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PSYCHOGRAPHY 


MARVELOUS    MANIFESTATIONS 


PSYCHIC   POWER 


GIVEN    THROUGH   THE   MEDIUMSHIP   OF 


Fred  P.  Evans 


i'Hl:  "independent  slate-writer" 


iTFIVBRSITr] 


Late  Editor  of  the  "  GOLDi-.N  Gati;,"  .idU  Author  oi  "OUR  SUNDAY  Talks,' 

■■  SPIRITUAL    PRAGMENTS,"   Etc. 


Till-;  incKs-jiDi) 

IliKS,    BllOKlllNUEKS    AM> 

io  l-iKST  Stkhkt,  San  Fh 


Act  of  Congress  in 
F>.     EVANS, 


TO  ALL  SOULS  SEEKING  FOR  TRUTH, 

OR  A   KNOWLEDGE  OF  LIFE 

BEYOND  THE  GRAVE, 

THIS  VOLUME 

IS  RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED 


^ 


^/^^s^ 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


Preface 7 

Introductory 9 

Biographical  vSketch 19 

l-'red  Kvans  in  San  Jose   2S 

I'syclionio  Lodge 35 

Kxtraordinary  Phenomena 39 

A  Slate  of  Many  Languages 41 

Spirit  Art 52 

Seance  with  Professor  A.  R.  Wallace 54 

Through  Southern  California  61 

Fred  Evans  at  Los  Angeles 70 

Mr.  Ausbach's  "  Expose  " 74 

Challenge  Accepted   76 

The  Spirit  World 77 

At  the  Opera  House f-o 

Our  Psychic  in  Santa  Barbara 82 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  in  Stockton S7 

A  Mtzi!  Skeptic  Disarmed 89 

Stanley  St.  Clair 93 

Tests  by  Proxy 9S 

Spirit  Canielia 100 

.\n  Interesting  Experiment 105 

Spirit  John  Gray 108 

Remarkable  Experience in 

Spirit  Josephine »,»   ..  .^.". 113 

St.  Clair's  Picture  of  Shakespeare S !"' iiS 

.\  Spirit  Indian  Maiden 121 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans'  Trip  to  .\ustralia   127 

Before  the  Psychological  Society  of  Brisbane 136 

Color  Tests  and  Portrait  Drawing 139 

Painful  .\ccident 142 

Experiments  in  Other  Phases 144 

Pas.sing  Matter  Through  Matter 1 47 

Physical  Manifestations      150 

.\  Seance  with  Fred  Evans 1 55 

Mr.  Evans'  Departure  from  Brisbane 1 59 

What  Mr.  Somerville  Says 163 

Fred  Evans  in  Melbourne 165 

Public  Demonstration  of  Psychography  at  Horticultural  Hall,  Melbourne 172 

.\  Sealed  Letter  Answered 1 78 

Departure  from  Melbourne 179 

What  a  Brother  of  Senator  Stanford  Says i.Si 

Mr.  Fred  ICvans  iu  Sydney 182 


6  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Ha  Confounds  the  Jugglers 184 

Letter  from  Jenny  Wren 186 

Strong  Endorsement   1S9 

Tests  not  in  the  Dark   191 

I  Attend  a  Seance 192 

Letter  from  Charles  P.  Cocks 1 93 

Words  Spoken  at  a  Funeral 19S 

Skepticism  and  Its  Effects 200 

A  Question  of  Proof 203 

How  the  Writing  Is  Done 206 

Conclusion 211 


TABLE  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

First  Slate  Given  Before  a  Public  Audience 26 

Professor  Robert  Hare 34 

Slate  of  Twelve  Languages      4~ 

Slate  Obtained  at  a  Select  Seance 5° 

D.  D.  Home 53 

John  Pierpont 5^ 

Dr.  Benjamin  Rush   67 

Mrs.  Breed 75 

Our  Spirit  Artist  96 

Spirit  Camelia loi 

Slate  for  Mr.  Whitlock 105 

John  Gray 109 

Josephine 115 

St.  Clair's  Shakespeare 119 

Indian  Maiden 122 

Professor  Denton 125 

Slate  Produced  Before  the  Brisbane  Psychological  Society 137 

Passing  Matter  Through  Matter 148 

Brass  Collar 151 

Portrait  for  Editor  of  Fsychic  Notes 154 

Fac-Simile  of  Direct  Spirit  Writing  in  Colors 1 73 

How  the  Writing  Is  Done 209 


MOST  of  the  experiments  mentioned  in  this  volume  were 
made  either  in  the  presence  of  the  author,  and  under 
tiie  most  crucial  test  conditions,  or  in  the  presence  of 
others  in  whom  the  writer  has  the  utmost  confidence.  These 
experiments  are  none  the  less  valuable  now  that  a  few  years 
have  elapsed  since  their  occurrence.  The  fact  is  that  the  multi- 
plicity of  other  duties  devolving  upon  the  author  has  prevented 
the  devotion  of  the  necessary  time  to  the  preparation  of  this 
book,  until  a  short  time  prior  to  its  publication.  Some  of  the 
best  results  given  herein,  however,  have  been  produced 
since  the  commencement  of  the  pleasant  task  of  preparing  the 
copy  for  the  printer — showing  that  the  mediumistic  powers  of 
Fred  Evans  have  lost  none  of  their  vigor  or  reliability.  We 
may  add  that  we  have  written  in  the  past  no  word  of  endorsc;- 
ment  of  this  gifted  psychic  that  we  would  wish  to  recall.  To 
us  the  writing  comes  with  the  same  readiness  and  completeness 
now  as  ever.  In  conferring  with  Mr.  Evans'  guide  a  few  days 
prior  to  this  writing,  to  consult  with  him  concerning  the  arrange- 
ment and  plan  of  this  volume,  Spirit  John  Gray  came  to  us 
with  a  hearty  "  God  bless  you,  my  dear  Mr.  Owen,"  and  pro- 
ceeded to  fill  nine  slates  fiill  of  writing  directly  under  our  own 
hands.  He  said,  ''  I  am  more  than  pleased  to  see  that  you 
have  used  a  little  persuasion  to  have  Fred  permit  you  to  pro- 
ceed at  once  with  his  book,  for  I  wish  to  see  it  published  and 
ready  for  the  public  as  soon  as  possible."  He  then  named  the 
pages  and  volumes  of  the  Golden  Gate,  wherein  we  would  find 


matter  suitable  for  the  book,  and  made  valuable  suggestions  con- 
cerning the  arrangements  of  the  cuts,  etc.  He  subsequently, 
at  our  request,  wrote  a  fine  article  explanatory  of  the  methods 
whereby  the  writing  is  done  upon  the  slates  by  psychic  power. 
This  article  appears  in  full  under  the  heading,  ''  How  the  Writing 
Is  Done,"  and  is  the  best  exposition  of  that  subject  we  have  yet 
seen.  To  us  this  work  is  one  of  real  pleasure,  as  we  trust  its 
perusal  will  be  to  all  searchers  after  the  truth. 

Respectfully, 

The  Author. 


Ir^trodUctory 


HE  grave  is  no  longer  voiceless.  It  speaks  to  us  with 
myriad  tongues  and  in  many  ways.  The  marvelous 
manifestations  of  occult  power  that  have  occurred  at  rare 
intervals  along  the  line  of  human  history,  and  that  were  generally 
regarded  as  miraculous  interpositions  of  Divine  Providence, 
have  come  to  be  almost  as  common  as  human  life.  To  longer 
doubt  the  phenomena  of  spirit  intercourse,  or  regard  its  varied 
manifestations  as  tricks  of  jugglery,  is  to  indicate  that  the 
doubter  has  been  left  behind  in  the  march  of  events  and  is 
groping  amid  the  shadows  of  the  past. 

To  millions  of  homes  the  fact  of  communion  with  the  so- 
called  dead  is  as  familiar  as  intercourse  with  the  living  on  the 
mortal  plane.  They  have  their  oracles,  or  psychics,  in  mothers, 
wives,  and  often  in  little  chiklren,  and  so  perfect  has  the  way  of 
communication  become  that  communion  by  entrancement,  by 
clairvoyance,  by  clairaudience,  by  the  spirit  rap,  and  often  in 
other  ways,  is  common  and  instantaneous,  without  resort  to 
the  circle  or  to  any  special  condition. 

And  thus  have  the  dark  clouds  of  ages  of  theological  error 
been  swept  away,  and  the  gloom  and  night  of  the  grave  been 
illumined  by  the  positive  sunlight  of  the  new  truth  that  has 
dawned  upon  the  world.  We  now  lay  away  our  idols,  not  to 
sleep  in  the  grave  until  some  far-away  resurrection  of  the  physi- 
cal body  shall  call  them  forth  to  endless  happiness  or  woe,  but 
we  simply  consign  "dust  to  dust,"  knowing  that  the  spirit,  clad 
in  the  habiliments  of  immortal  youth,  still  lives  to  comfort  the 
mourner  with  the  sweet  thought  that  they  are  not  dead. 

How  little  do  we  really  know  of  the  nature  of  spirit.  We 
live   in   a   world  of  mysteries — the   mystery  of  being,  of  birth. 


10  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

growth,  death — the  mystery  of  hidden  forces  and  laws — some  of 
which,  by  famiHarity  therewith,  have  ceased  to  make  us  wonder, 
but  which  are  none  the  less  mysteries. 

What  do  we  know  of  the  occult  power  that  projected  man 
upon  this  whirling  ball  of  earth,  and  made  him  a  sentient,  con- 
scious being,  with  marvelous  faculties  and  powers  ?  What  do 
we  know  of  plant  life  and  growth,  of  electricity,  of  the  laws  of 
gravitation,  of  combustion,  of  the  principles  of  attraction  and 
cohesion,  of  many  other  properties  of  matter?  How  does  the 
rose  extract  its  colors  and  perfume  from  the  earth  and  air  ? 
What  gives  the  bee  the  instinct  of  a  coming  time  when  the 
earth  will  be  barren  of  its  food  supply  ? 

And  thus  we  might  go  on  questioning,  almost  indefinitely, 
concerning  a  vast  array  of  nature's  manifestations  with  which, 
in  a  certain  sense,  we  are  familiar,  but  with  the  inner  meanings 
and  principles  of  which  we  know  little  or  nothing. 

Placed  as  we  are  in  the  midst  of  mysteries  most  wonderful 
and  profound,  why  should  intelligent  man  question  the  possi- 
bility of  spirit  return  and  communion,  which  is  really  no  more 
mysterious  than  the  intelligent  communion  of  mortals  ?  The 
moving  of  ponderous  bodies  by  an  intelligent,  invisible  power, 
is  no  more  mysterious  than  many  other  manifestations  of  the 
forces  with  which  we  are  more  familiar. 

Notwithstanding  the  logic  of  all  the  mystery  with  which 
nature  abounds,  there  are  multitudes  of  intelligent  people  who 
ignore  and  deny  all  of  the  essential  facts  upon  which  Spiritual- 
ists base  their  claims  concerning  a  future  existence.  Some 
scientists  even  treat  the  subject  with  ridicule,  and  affect  a  supe- 
riority of  wisdom  concerning  the  same,  which  is  as  amazing  as 
it  is  pitiful.  But  "the  world  moves"  nevertheless.  The  truth 
is  certain  to  come  uppermost  at  last. 

The  phenomenalism  of  Spiritualism  will  soon,  as  other 
newly  discovered  principles  and  forces  in  nature  have  done  in 
the  past,  cease  to   excite  especial  wonder.     The  spirit  rap  ;  the 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

temporary  domination  of  natural  law  by  a  higher  but  none  the 
less  natural  law;  the  trance,  clairvoyance,  clairaudience,  psychog. 
raphy,  psychometry;  the  exercise  of  all  the  many  and  varied 
gifts  of  the  spirit,  and  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  the  wonder- 
ful manifestation  of  the  psychic  form — all  these,  and  more,  will 
soon  be  as  familiar  to  mankind  as  human  life  itself.  The  knowl- 
edge of  these  facts  is  spreading  with  marvelous  rapidity 
throughout  the  world. 

When  Professor  Zollner,  in  his  experiments,  demonstrated 
the  power  of  the  spirit  scientist  to  disintegrate  matter  and  again 
reunite  the  particles  of  the  same — that  is,  to  pass  matter  through 
matter  without  any  apparent  derangement  of  the  particles 
thereof — he  gave  to  the  thoughtful  mind  a  suggestive  hint  of 
the  true  relation  of  spirit  to  the  material  universe. 

In  our  own  experiments  with  psychic  force,  we  have,  time 
and  again,  verified  the  great  German  Professor's  conclusions,  in 
demonstrating  to  our  entire  satisfaction  the  possibility  of  pro- 
jecting matter  through  matter  by  spirit  power.  Similar  experi- 
ments have  been  made  and  like  conclusions  reached  by  all 
careful  students  in  this  realm  of  occult  forces,  the  summing  up 
of  which  teaches  us,  beyond  questioning,  the  stupendous  fact 
that  matter  is  servant  of  the  spirit — that  it  is  the  evanescent  and 
unreal,  while  spirit  is  the  only  truly  potent  and  substantial  thing 
in  the  universe. 

After  all,  what  is  spirit  but  a  higher  and  superior  form  of 
matter  ?  Where  can  we  draw  the  dividing  line  ?  Certainly  not 
at  the  point  of  invisibility,  for  there  are  worlds  of  matter  all 
around  us  that  no  eye  can  see.  The  air,  the  perfume  of  the 
rose,  the  imponderable  ether,  even,  is  a  rarefied  form  of  matter. 
In  fact  we  can  conceive  of  nothing  that  is  not  matter.  We  call 
its  finer  forms  spirit,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  coarser,  but  it  is 
matter  all  the  same.  In  the  nature  of  things,  the  finer  and 
superior  must  dominate  the  coarser.  All  worlds  and  systems  of 
worlds  swing  through  the  mighty  spaces  of  the  skies  in  perfect 


12  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

obedience  to  a  Something  which  is  infinitely  more  potent 
than  they. 

To  the  most  superficial  thinker  the  ponderability  of  matter 
is  merely  conditional,  and  these  conditions  are  continually 
changing.  The  most  obdurate  metals  may  be  consumed  by 
acids  or  dissipated  by  heat.  The  diamond  itself,  the  hardest  of 
all  known  substances,  is  but  a  crystal  of  carbon,  that  may  be 
scattered  as  with  a  breath.  There  is  no  form  of  matter  that 
may  not  be  changed  to  other  forms  by  a  power  behind  it  greater 
than  itself,  which  is  simply  the  higher,  or  spiritual,  varying  its 
modes  of  expression. 

The  lesson  of  these  facts  should  teach  man  that  he  is 
something  more  than  a  clod — that  there  is  that  within  him 
greater  than  he  seems — a  something  of  which  his  physical  body 
is  but  the  expression.  If  there  were  no  positive  evidence  of 
man's  spiritual  existence  after  he  has  cast  aside  the  earthly  form, 
it  would  seem  that  the  inference  of  such  an  existence,  drawn 
from  the  varied  phenomena  of  life,  would  be  irresistible. 

Why  do  we  hope  for  that  which  it  would  be  absolutely  and 
forever  impossible  to  attain?  Can  the  materialist  answer?  Is 
it  reasonable  to  suppose  that  nature  would  stand  and  make 
faces  at  herself?  Is  there  anything  in  all  her  teachings  that 
warrants  the  conclusion  that  she  is  petulant,  or  childish,  or 
false?  We  think  not.  And  this  conclusion  becomes  more  and 
more  irresistible  as  we  delve  deeper  and  deeper  in  the  mine  of 
spiritual  knowledge. 

Professors  Alfred  R.  Wallace,  Crookes,  Varley,  Zollner, 
Hellenbach,  Flammarian,  Hare,  and  other  eminent  scientists, 
devoted  years  to  the  investigation  of  spirit  phenomena,  and 
became  thoroughly  convinced  that  they  were  the  incontrovertible 
evidences  of  independent  spirit  existence.  Other  scientists,  to 
which  may  be  added  the  Harvard  professors,  and  a  vast  array 
of  superficial  thinkers  of  all  classes,  who  never  gave  the  subject 
more  than  a  passing  thought — never  sat  in  a  seance,  or,  if  they 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

did,  it  was  for  the  purpose,  if  possible,  of  detecting  a  supposed 
trick — denounce  all  the  manifestations  of  psychic  power  as  the 
works  of  jugglery,  or  attribute  them  to  unconscious  cerebration, 
involuntary  muscular  action,  or  some  half  dozen  other  six- 
syllabled  and  nonsensical  reasons. 

Now,  we  respectfully  ask,  Which  of  the  two  classes  is  better 
entitled  to  belief?  Is  the  man  who  has  demonstrated  a  proposi- 
tion or  principle  to  his  satisfaction,  and  knows  it  to  be  true,  to 
be  thrust  aside  and  his  opinions  ridiculed  by  one  who  simply 
does  not  know  what  he  is  talking  about  ?  Will  the  honest 
skeptic  accept  the  ipse  dixit  of  the  latter?  And  yet  that  is 
seemingly  what  many  are  doing.  They  accept  explanations  for 
natural  phenomena  that,  when  submitted  to  the  crucible  of  the 
most  ordinary  reason,  are  dispelled  into  vapor. 

But  why  is  it  that  people — especially  religious  people — 
should  be  so  hostile  to  the  demonstrated  facts  of  spirit  existence  ? 
They  claim  to  believe  in  it  as  a  matter  of  faith,  why  should  they 
be  averse  to  the  truth — to  having  the  fact  placed  beyond 
question  of  doubt  ?  Even  the  materialist  and  skeptic  should 
be  ready  to  hail  with  joy  a  truth  of  such  stupendous  moment ; 
at  least  they  should  listen  impartially  to  the  evidence,  and  not 
prejudge  the  case. 

Nature  is  full  of  surprises  to  whoever  has  the  courage  to 
follow  her  hidden  ways  and  the  skill  to  discover  her  secrets. 
Reasoning  man  should  not  shrink  from  the  investigation  of 
whatever  relates  to  his  present  or  future  welfare.  There  is 
nothing  that  belongs  to  his  life  that  he  has  not  a  right  to  know — 
nothing  in  nature  that  does  not  belong  to  him — the  good  to  be 
appropriated  to  his  own  use  and  happiness  ;  the  evil  or  hurtful 
to  be  placed  under  his  feet. 

This  would  seem  to  be  the  true  course  to  pursue  with 
regard  to  all  things  in  earth  or  the  heavens  above — to  all 
sources  of  human  knowledge. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  some  eminent  persons  who,  after 


14  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

personal  investigation,  have  satisfied  themselves  of  the  reality 
of  some  of  the  phenomena  generally  known  as  Psychical  or 
Spiritualistic. 

Science.— The  Earl  of  Crawford  and  Balcarres.F.R.  S.,  President  R.A.  S.;  W.  Crookes, 
Fellow  and  Gold  Medalist  of  the  Royal  Society;  C.  Varley,  F.  R.  S.,  C.  E.;  A.  R.  Wallace, 
the  eminent  Naturalist;  W.  F.  Barrett,  F.  R.  S.  E.,  Professor  of  Physics  in  the  Royal  College 
of  Science,  Dublin;  Dr.  Lockhart  Robertson;  *Dr.  J.  Elliotson,  F.  R.  S.,  sometime  President 
of  the  Royal  Medical  and  Chirurgical  Society  of  London;  "Professor  de  Morgan,  sometime 
President  of  the  Mathematical  Society  of  London;  *Dr.  William  Gregory,  F.  R.  S.  E.,  some- 
time Professor  of  Chemistry  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh;  *Dr.  Ashburner;  *Mr.  Rutter; 
*Dr.  Herbert  Mayo,  F.  R.  S.,  etc.,  etc. 

"Professor  F.ZoUner,  of  Leipzig,  author  of  "Transcendental  Physics,"  etc.;  Professors  G.  T. 
Fechner,  Scheibner,  and  J.  H.  Fichte,  of  Leipzig;  Professor  W.  E.  Weber,  of  Gottingen; 
Professor  Hoffman,  of  Wiirzburg;  "Professor  Perty,  of  Berne;  Professors  Wagner  and  *But- 
lerof,  of  Petersburg:  *Professors  Hare  and  Mapes,  of  U.  S.  A.;  Dr.  Robert  Friese,  of  Breslau; 
M.  Camille  Flammarian,  Astronomer,  etc.,  etc. 

Literature.— The  Earl  of  Dunraven;  T.  A.  Trollope;  S.  C.  Hall;  Gerald  Massey;  Sir 
R.  Burton;  "Professor  Cassal,  LL.  D.;  "Lord  Brougham;  "Lord  Lytton;  "Lord  Lyndhurst; 
"Archbishop  Whately;  *Dr.  R.  Chambers,  F.  R.  S.  E.;  *W.  M.  Thackeray;  "Nassau  Senior; 
"George  Thompson;  'W.  Howitt;  "Sergeant  Cox;  "Mrs.  Browning;  Hon.  Roden  Noel,  etc.,  etc. 

Bishop  Clarke,  Rhode  Island,  U.  S.  A.;  Darius  Lyman,  U.  S.  A.;  Professor  W.  Denton; 
Professor  Alex.  Wilder;  Professor  Hiram  Corson:  Professor  George  Bush;  and  twenty  four 
Judges  and  ex-Judges  of  the  United  States  Courts;  "Victor  Hugo;  Baron  and  Baroness  Von 
Vay;  *W.  Lloyd  Garrison,  U.  S.  A.;  "Hon.  R.  Dale  Owen,  U.  S.  A.;  "Hon.  J.  W.Edmonds, 
U.  S.  A.;  "Epes  Sargent;  "Baron  du  Potet;  "Count  A.  de  Gasparin;  "Baron  L.  de  Gulden- 
stiibbe,  etc.,  etc. 

Social  Position.— H.  L  H.  Nicholas,  Duke  of  Leuchtenberg;  H.  R.  H.  the  Prince  of 
Solms;  H.  S.  H.  Prince  Albrecht  of  Solms;  *H.  S.  H.  Prince  Emile  of  Sayn-Wittgenstein; 
Hon.  Alexander  Aksakof,  Imperial  Councilor  of  Russia;  the  Countess  of  Caithness  and  Duch- 
esse  de  Pomar;  the  Hon.  J.  L.  O'SuUivan,  sometime  Minister  of  U.  S.  A.  at  the  Court  of 
Lisbon;  M.  Favre-Clavairoz,  late  Consul-General  of  France  at  Trieste;  the  late  Emperors  of 
"Russia  and  *France;  Presidents  "Thiers  and  *Lincoln,  etc.,  etc. 

N.  B.     All  asterisk  is  prefixed  to  those  who  have  exchanged  belief  for  knowledge. 

Psychography,  or  writing  by  spirit  power,  is  not  new  to  the 
world,  if  we  may  believe  the  sacred  writings  of  the  ancients. 
When  the  Spirit  inscribed  upon  tables  of  stone,  for  Moses,  in  the 
mountains  of  Sinai,  those  marvelous  lessons  of  wisdom  and  law 
known  as  the  Ten  Commandments,  what  was  it  but  a  higher 
form  of  independent  writing  ?  And  again,  when  the  carousing 
hosts  of  Belshazzar  paused  in  their  mad  revelry,  and,  paralyzed 
with  fear,  gazed  upon  the  spirit  hand  writing  upon  the  wall  those 
prophetic  words,  " Mette,  mene,  tekel  upharsin"  (This  day  shall 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

thy  kingdom  be  taken  from  thee),  what  grander  illustration  of 
psychography  was  ever  presented  to  the  world  ? 

In  the  preparation  of  this  book,  devoted  as  it  will  be 
mainly  to  the  psychographic  powers  of  Fred  P.  Evans,  we  hope 
to  preserve  a  record  of  some  most  remarkable  incidents  that 
cannot  but  prove  valuable  to  investigators  in  psychic  phe- 
nomena. 

The  writer  first  became  acquainted  with  Fred  Evans,  the 
gifted  psychographist,  in  the  summer  of  1885.  We  were  editing 
the  Golden  Gate  at  that  time,  a  paper  "devoted  to  practical 
reform,  the  uplifting  of  humanity  in  this  life,  and  a  search  for 
the  evidences  of  life  beyond."  Mr.  Evans  (a  biographical 
sketch  of  whose  life  is  herein  given)  had  then  but  recendy 
entered  the  field  of  public  work  as  an  independent  slate-writer. 

We  were  well  informed  on  the  subject  of  psychography,  as 
witnessed  in  the  presence  of  Mrs.  Mollis,  so  graphically 
described  by  her  able  biographer,  Dr.  Wolff,  and  of  William 
Eglinton,  of  England,  as  given  in  his  own  elegant  work.  We 
also  had  had  much  personal  experience  with  that,  at  one  time, 
e.Kcellent  slate-writer,  Mrs.  Clara  S.  Reid,  and  also  with  Mrs. 
C.  M.  Stowe,  and  had  witnessed  the  phenomenon  in  the  pres- 
ence of  several  others,  all  more  or  less  satisfactory. 

With  all  of  these  psychics  it  was  necessary  to  hold  the 
slate  under  a  table,  and  out  of  sight  of  the  sitter,  a  condition 
never  entirely  satisfactory  to  the  skeptic.  Fred  Evans  was 
able  to  procure  the  writing  in  the  open  light  of  day,  without 
contact  of  hands,  by  simply  placing  the  slates  upon  a  table,  or 
upon  the  floor,  within  a  few  feet  of  the  psychic.  In  this  way 
we  have  received  as  many  as  fourteen  slates  at  one  sitting, 
written  full  upon  the  under  side,  the  message  continuing  from 
one  slate  to  another,  all  upon  matters  of  much  interest  to  us, 
and  all  written  in  a  few  minutes'  time. 

And  here  is  a  phase  of  this  phenomenon  of  amazing  interest 
to  all  searchers  into  the  realm   of  the  occult.      While  one  can 


16  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

often  hear  the  pencil  tip  moving  over  the  under  surface  of  the 
slate,  the  writing  is  quite  as  often,  vi^ith  Mr.  Evans  especially, 
apparently  thrown  or  impressed  upon  the  slate,  vastly  more 
rapidly  than  it  could  possibly  be  written  by  mortal  hand. 

We  recall  one  instance  where  some  twelve  hundred  words 
were  finely  written  over  the  surfaces  of  two  large  slates  in  what 
seemed  to  us  an  incredibly  short  space  of  time.  We  immediately, 
without  any  previous  arrangement  with,  or  intimation  to,  the 
medium,  asked  John  Gray,  his-  psychographic  control,  if  he 
could  name  the  number  of  words  upon  each  slate.  Instantly 
the  correct  figures  were  given,  as  we  afterwards  ascertained  by 
careful  count. 

It  is  this  open-handed  way  of  writing  that,  in  a  large 
measure,  has  made  Fred  Evans  pre-eminent  among  psychics  for 
this  phase,  and  given  to  him  a  world-wide  reputation. 

But  all  do  not  receive  the  positive  demonstration  of  spirit 
power  alike.  Much  depends  upon  the  sitter.  With  some  it  is 
almost  impossible  to  procure  the  writing  at  all,  and  then  there 
may  probably  be  defects  in  the  message  received — discrepancies 
in  names  or  dates — which  will  not  be  satisfying  to  either  medium 
or  sitter.  With  others,  and  by  far  the  larger  number,  the  writing 
comes  promptly,  often  giving  names,  dates,  and  other  evidences 
of  genuineness  that  sweep  away  all  barriers  of  doubt  and 
unbelief. 

The  writer,  who  has  had  hundreds  of  experimental  seances 
with  this  psychic,  the  result  of  many  of  which  will  be  given  in 
the  body  of  this  work,  is  peculiarly  fortunate  in  this  respect. 
For  him  the  writing  comes  always  and  readily,  without  the 
touch  of  the  psychic's  hands  to  the  slates,  and  anywhere  within 
the  radius  of  eight  or  ten  feet  of  his  person.  We  have  often,  in 
his  presence,  sent  out  our  thoughts  to  the  spirit  we  would  like  to 
communicate  with,  and  straightway  the  message  would  appear 
under  our  hands,  and  frequently  in  writing  identical  with  that 
of  the    mortal    whose    spirit    we    had    evoked,  and  sometimes 


INTRODUCTORY.  17 

accompanied  by  messages  from  spirits  who  were  not  in  our 
thought  at  the  time,  thus  disproving  any  supposition  of  mind- 
reading.  Such  proofs  of  spirit  power  or  identity  it  would  be 
unwise  to  deny. 

Mr.  Evans  possesses  other  phases  of  psychic  power;  but 
he  has  wisely  confined  himself,  in  his  public  work,  mainly  to  the 
one  in  which  he  felt  he  could  produce  the  most  satisfactory 
results. 

The  main  source  of  Fred  Evans'  power  is  the  intelligent 
entity,  invisible  to  mortal  eyes,  that  ever  attends  him,  and  who 
gives  his  name  as  John  Gray,  or,  as  his  many  friends  famil- 
iarly call  him,  Johnny  Gray.  It  is  well  known  that  spirits 
engaged  in  public  work  sometimes  forsake  their  mediums  for 
others,  through  whom  they  can  accomplish  better  results.  Such 
was  the  case  with  John  Gray,  who  accompanied  the  psychic 
with  whom  Mr.  Evans  first  sat  for  development,  being  assured 
by  this  spirit  that  he  (Evans)  possessed  remarkable  powers  for 
the  slate-writing  phase.  John  Gray  found  Fred  the  better 
Dsychic  of  the  two,  and,  forsaking  the  old  instrument,  took  to 
the  new,  and  has  been  with  him  from  the  time  of  his  development 
to  the  present  time,  a  period  at  this  writing  of  nearly  eight  years. 

Mr.  Evans  has  in  his  band  another  spirit  named  Stanley 
St.  Clair,  an  artist  who  came  to  him  during  the  writer's  experi- 
mental work  with  this  psychic.  It  is  this  spirit  who  makes  all 
the  off-hand  sketches  of  persons  and  scenes  that  frequently 
appear  upon  the  slates.  This  spirit  gave  us  a  sketch  of  his  life 
which  will  appear  further  on. 

On  one  occasion  St.  Clair  sketched  for  us  a  quaint 
scene  of  an  old  German  town,  where  he  said  he  had  formerly 
pursued  the  study  of  his  art.  It  was  a  characteristic  sketch,  and 
showed  much  ingenuity.  The  small  windows  and  red  roof  tiles 
were  true  to  nature,  and  could  only  have  been  sketched  by 
one  familiar  with  German  scenery,  which  Mr.  Evans  certainly 
was  not. 


lb  •  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

The  frequent  writing  in  colors  that  appears  upon  the  slates, 
and  that  apparently  without  the  use  of  colored  crayons,  is  a 
most  mysterious  phase  of  this  phenomenon.  We  have  obtained 
as  many  as  thirty-three  shades  of  colors  on  a  single  slate.  This 
color  writing,  we  are  aware,  is  not  peculiar  to  Mr.  Evans'  guides 
alone,  but  we  have  never  known  a  psychographist  through 
whom  the  colors  came  in  such  great  variety  and  profusion. 

How  is  this  colored  writing  done  ?  John  Gray  explains 
that  he  extracts  the  colors  from  the  elements,  by  spirit  chem- 
istry—often from  flowers,  or  colored  materials  in  proximity  with 
the  psychic.  A  lady  medium  for  this  phase  informs  us  that  the 
carpet  in  the  room  where  she  holds  her  seances  had  been 
despoiled  of  most  of  its  colors  by  the  spirits ! 

Wishing  to  ascertain  if  Spirit  John  Gray's  powers  for  pro- 
ducing color  writing  were  the  same  as  when  we  had  last  tested 
him  for  that  phase,  some  two  years  before,  we  called  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Evans  on  Tuesday  evening,  December  27,  1892, 
when,  under  the  usual  crucial  conditions,  a  personal  message  was 
written  to  the  author,  signed  by  eleven  of  his  friends  in  spirit 
life,  and  all  in  different  shades  of  color — some  of  them  most 
delicate  and  exquisite.  There  were  in  all  twelve  shades  of 
color  upon  the  slate.  The  writing  was  produced  under  our 
own  hands,  no  mortal  hand  touching  the  slate  except  those  of 
the  writer  and  his  wife.  The  names  and  message  are  all  of  a 
personal  character,  but  its  chief  merit  to  investigators  is  in  the 
variety  of  colors,  and  the  fact  that  they  are  written  over  a  cross 
first  placed  upon  the  slate  with  a  common  slate  pencil,  to  show 
that  there  was  no  false  bottom  to,  or  chemical  preparation  of, 
the  slate,  as  jugglers  or  skeptics  are  disposed  to  assert. 

We  may  add  that  upon  several  of  the  slates  given  in  this 
volume  there  was  some  colored  writing,  or  illustrations,  which 
we  have  printed  uniformly  in  black. 

With  this  introduction  we  will  pass  on  to  other,  and  per- 
haps more  interesting  matter. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH. 


iT^R.  FRED  P.  EVANS  was  born  in  Liverpool,  England. 
Vt/  June  9,  1S62.  He  is  rather  under  medium  stature,  is 
youthful  in  appearance,  with  pleasant  features,  and  of 
fine  health  and  physique.  He  was  subject,  in  early  life,  to 
strange  psychical  experiences  which  indicated  his  mediumistic 
nature,  but  concerning  which  he  then  had  no  knowledge. 

Fred  came  of  a  truly  noble  ancestry.  One  of  his  great- 
grandfathers was  no  less  a  personage  than  that  grand  humani- 
tarian and  reformer,  Robert  Owen.  His  great-grandmother, 
Catherine  Owen,  was  a  daughter  of  Hugh  Hughes.  His  grand- 
father was  Hugh  Evans,  and  his  grandmother's  maiden  name 
was  Jane  Owen,  a  granddaughter  of  Robert  Owen.  His  grand- 
parents were  of  Welsh  nationality,  his  grandmother  being  first 
cousin  to  Lord  Dinorben,  of  Cimal  Hall,  Denbigshire.  His 
grandfather,  Hugh  Evans,  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  old 
Cambrian  Society,  in  1829.  His  father,  John  Evans,  was  born 
in  1S26.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was  Catherine  Rowlands, 
daughter  of  William  Rowlands,  Agent  of  the  Paris  Mountain 
Copper  Mine. 

At  the  age  of  thirteen  Fred  entered  upon  a  seafaring  life. 
He  was  then  a  bright,  active,  muscular  boy,  quick  to  learn,  and 
perfectly  fearless  of  danger.  He  soon  became  thoroughly 
familiar  with  his  duties.  No  old  sea  dog  could  "  shin  up  "  a  rope 
quite  as  rapidly  as  Fred,  and  none  was  more  ready  to  respond 
to  every  call  of  duty. 

This  period  of  his  life,  from  the  age  of  thirteen  to  twenty-one, 
was  one  of  unusual  hardship  and  danger.  His  first  venture  was 
upon  the  bark  "  Loraine,"  which  was  wrecked  in  the  English 
Channel,  and  our  sailor  boy  barely  escaped  with  his  life.      His 


20  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

next  venture  was  upon  the  steamship  ''  Teutonia,"  which  is 
unmarked  by  any  important  event.  His  second  voyage,  by 
the  same  steamer,  was  one  of  continued  accident  and  danger. 
A  fearful  gale  was  encountered  off  the  coast  of  Spain,  the  vessel 
lost  her  propeller,  the  sails  were  blown  away,  and  for  nine  days 
the  ship  drifted  at  the  mercy  of  the  wind  and  waves.  In 
endeavoring  to  land  in  small  boats  several  of  the  crew  lost  their 
lives.  A  harbor  was  finally  reached,  repairs  made,  and  the  ship 
set  sail  for  Havana.  Before  reaching  its  destination  the  propeller 
again  dropped  out,  an  accident  which  our  young  sailor  foretold, 
and  warned  the  Captain  to  prepare  for,  but  his  warning  was 
unheeded. 

But  without  attempting  to-follow  him  in  all  of  his  voyages, 
or  note  the  many  important  incidents  in  his  seafaring  career,  we 
will  touch  only  upon  the  more  important  points. 

In  a  voyage  on  the  bark  "  Cynosure  "  from  London  to 
Australia,  the  cook,  who  had  been  acting  strangely  tor  several 
days,  after  preparing  the  evening  meal  ready  for  serving,  jumped 
overboard  and  was  lost.  Lots  were  cast  to  supply  his  place  and 
Fred  was  elected.  On  entering  the  galley  to  serve  up  the  food, 
the  dishes  began  to  clatter  and  skip  about  in  an  unaccountable 
manner,  and  he  fled  in  dismay  to  the  deck;  but  he  soon  over- 
came his  fears  and  returned  to  his  task,  when  he  found  every- 
thing quiet. 

It  was  during  this  voyage,  in  a  fearful  storm,  that  a  wave 
broke  over  the  ship,  washing  Fred  overboard.  A  few  moments 
afterwards,  by  the  lurch  of  the  vessel,  or  possibly  by  the  aid  of 
those  powers  which  ever  attend  him,  he  found  himself  again  on 
deck  and  uninjured.  In  fact,  he  seems,  in  his  perils  by  sea, 
to  have  borne  a  charmed  life,  as  we  doubt  not  he  did.  The 
storm  raged  with  great  fury  for  many  days.  During  its  progress, 
when  the  crew  were  all  on  deck  working  for  dear  life  to  save 
the  ship,  he  was  sent  into  the  forecastle  on  an  errand.  The 
place  was  quite  dark,  but  light  enough  for  him  to  see  a  strange 


lUOGKAnilCAL    SKKTCH.  21 

man  standing  there,  who  showed  him  a  knife  wound  in  his 
breast,  from  which  the  blood  was  flowing.  Fred  noted  his 
dress  and  appearance,  but  did  not  stop  long  to  make  his 
acquaintance !  He  told  his  shipmates  what  he  had  seen,  and 
on  the  following  day  he  was  sent  for  by  the  Captain,  and 
requested  to  recount  his  experience.  He  was  informed  that  his 
description  tallied  exactly  with  that  of  a  Spaniard  who  was 
stabbed  and  killed  in  a  personal  affray  during  a  former  voyage, 
and  concerning  which  young  Evans  knew  nothing. 

This  voyage  lasted  eighteen  months,  and  was  a  series  of 
accidents  from  first  to  last.  He  was  warned  by  the  invisibles 
not  to  ship  in  the  vessel  again,  and  although  the  Captain,  who 
had  treated  him  very  kindly,  urged  him  to  do  so,  he  refused. 
In  her  next  voyage  the  ship  was  wrecked  off  Cape  Horn,  and 
all  on  board  lost. 

Our  young  sailor's  next  voyage  was  on  the  ''  Shatamuc  " 
to  New  York.  This  vessel  was  water-logged,  and  for  eleven 
days  the  crew  were  obliged  to  sleep  in  the  rigging,  where  they 
subsisted  on  a  cracker  a  day  to  each  man,  and  a  little  water 
which  they  had  been  able  to  secure. 

Evans  is  an  expert  swimmer,  strong  of  limb,  and  perfectly 
cool  in  time  of  danger,  qualities  which  have  enabled  him  to 
rescue  several  persons  from  drowning.  In  March,  1881,  a 
laborer  fell  from  the  dock  in  Bramley  Moore,  Liverpool,  and 
would  have  drowned  but  for  the  timely  assistance  of  Evans, 
who  sprang  into  the  ice-cold  water  and  bore  him  to  the  shore.  A 
few  days  later  a  man  fell  from  the  Husskisson  dock,  Liverpool, 
whom  he  also  saved  from  drowning  in  like  manner.  But  the 
most  noteworthy  incident  of  this  kind  occurred  in  April  of  the 
same  year.  Mr.  Evans  was  a  passenger  on  a  steamer  on  an 
excursion  trip  on  the  River  Mersey.  There  was  a  crowd  of 
young  people  on  board,  who,  on  the  return  trip,  and  when 
nearing  the  wharf,  became  quite  boisterous.  One  of  the  gang- 
way fenders  became  displaced  in  their  roystering,  and  a  young 


22  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

lady  was  crowded  overboard.  Mr.  Evans,  who  was  standing  in 
another  part  of  the  boat,  on  hearing  the  cry,  "  A  man  over- 
board !  "  was  suddenly  impelled  by  a  mighty  impulse  to  leap  to 
her  rescue.  He  did  so,  notwithstanding  he  was  encumbered 
with  heavy  clothing.  Seeing  a  white  object  floating  near,  he 
seized  it.  It  was  the  form  of  the  woman,  who,  fortunately  for 
the  brave  swimmer,  was  insensible.  It  was  ten  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  and  the  night  was  very  dark.  All  was  confusion  on 
board,  the  boat  was  stopped  and  an  effort  made  for  their  rescue. 
But  they  were  lost  in  the  darkness,  and  it  was  supposed  that 
both  were  drowned.  Evans  bore  up  the  fainting  woman  and 
manfully  struck  out  for  the  shore,  which  he  reached  in  safety. 
For  this  act  the  Liverpool  Shipwreck  and  Humane  Society 
voted  him  the  thanks  of  the  Society  for  his  bravery,  with  a 
present  of  two  pounds.  The  Society's  certificate,  which  he  has 
framed,  is  one  of  his  most  cherished  treasures. 

Mr.  Evans'  next  venture  was  in  an  old  bark  in  the  cotton- 
carrying  trade,  which  was  wrecked  in  the  mouth  of  the  Mississ- 
ippi River.  Next,  in  the  position  of  Quartermaster,  on  board 
the  steamship  "  Arabic,"  he  made  a  voyage  from  Liverpool,  via 
the  Suez  Canal,  to  India,  thence  to  China  and  Japan,  and  thence 
to  San  Francisco,  where  he  was  honorably  discharged.  He 
was  afterwards  engaged  for  two  years  as  Quartermaster  on 
various  steamers  in  the  coasting  service,  running  to  Victoria  and 
other  ports,  and  making  two  trips  to  Alaska.  This  ends  his 
nautical  career,  which  is  quite  enough  for  a  young  man  then 
only  twenty-two.  He  has  some  eight  or  ten  honorable 
discharge  papers,  with  several  personal  cards  of  merit,  which  he 
highly  prizes. 

In  1884  he  commenced  the  investigation  of  Spiritualism, 
his  first  experience  being  at  one  of  Mrs.  Foye's  public  test 
seances  given  at  Washington  Hall,  San  Francisco.  Venturing 
in  there  one  evening,  from  curiosity,  with  a  shipmate,  his 
companion  was  dumfounded  by  hearing  a  name  given  known 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH.  23 

to  no  one  present  but  himself,  with  a  description  of  the  manner 
of  his  demise,  when,  where,  etc.  Evans  became  much  inter- 
ested. He  visited  several  psychics,  all  of  whom  assured  him 
that  he  would  be  a  powerful  psychic  himself  if  he  would  only 
sit  for  development.  He  finally  concluded  to  do  so,  and  after 
sitting  every  evening  for  about  three  months,  and  when  about 
to  abandon  the  effort  in  disgust,  he  received  the  gift  of  inde- 
pendent slate-writing,  together  with  that  of  clairvoyance,  clair- 
audience,  and  other  phases. 

The  following  account  of  Mr.  Evans'  psychical  develop- 
ment is  thus  related  by  himself  : 

I  first  secured  a  pair  of  5x7  school  slates.  I  appointed  my  time  of  sitting 
from  10:30  to  II  every  evening,  for  I  was  certain  of  being  alone  and  undis- 
turbed at  that  hour.  The  next  plan  was  to  make  my  room  perfectly  dark 
during  my  sittings.  I  might  pause  here  and  discuss  the  question  as  to  why 
darkness  was  necessary,  but  I  will  not,  further  than  to  say  that  it  seems  a  law 
of  Nature  that  darkness  is  necessary  in  many  of  her  most  wonderful  operations. 
The  seeds  of  nearly  all  vegetable  formations  can  only  grow  and  mature  in  the 
midst  of  a  profound  darkness;  and  then,  again,  before  they  can  germinate  and 
grow,  they  must  be  covered  with  darkness  and  mother  earth.  The  enibryotic 
animal  is  unfolded  and  developed  in  the  dark,  and  not  until  the  form  is  fully 
perfected  does  Nature  permit  it  to  behold  the  light  which  thenceforward  is  its 
life  sustainer.  Why  it  is  so  none  can  answer.  But  that  it  is  so  all  must  admit, 
and  so  I  found  it  in  developing  myself.  I  sat  in  my  darkened  room  holding 
my  slates  for  a  half-hour  each  evening  for  two  months,  and  never  received  a 
manifestation.  I  began  to  get  discouraged,  and  determined  that  I  should  sit 
no  longer  for  development,  so  I  put  my  slates  away  and  retired.  I  had  been  in 
bed  about  three  minutes  when  I  could  see  a  bright  luminous  light  at  the  foot 
of  my  bed.  I  thought  it  might  be  caused  by  the  light  creeping  through  the 
blinds  and  reflecting  on  the  white  door  knob  which  was  opposite  the  foot  of 
my  bed.  Although  I  felt  a  little  nervous  I  arose  and  hung  my  black  coat  on 
the  door  knob,  so  that  it  would  not  cause  any  delusion.  I  covered  every- 
thing that  was  white  with  some  black  material.  I  next  turned  my  attention  to 
the  only  window  in  the  room,  and  covered  it  so  that  not  a  ray  of  light  could 
get  in;  the  room  was  so  dark  that  1  could  not  see  an  inch  before  me.  I 
groped  my  way  back  to  bed,  determined  that  if  any  light  should  appear  it 
must  surely  be  spirits.  I  had  no  sooner  got  into  bed  than  several  luminous 
lights  were  seen   floating  at  the  foot  of  my  bed.     Some  would  be  about  the 


24  PSVCHOGRAPHY. 

size  of  a  dollar  and  others  would  be  about  the  size  of  a  man's  hand.  I  was 
determined  to  see  in  reality  what  they  were,  and  was  half  out  of  bed  with  the 
intention  of  going  to  where  the  lights  seemed  to  be  located,  when  the  lights 
suddenly  came  within  an  inch  of  my  face.  I  jumped  into  bed  and  covered 
my  head  with  the  clothes  to  see  whether  I  was  being  deluded  in  anyway,  when 
the  clothes  were  suddenly  pulled  oft"  the  bed  by  invisible  hands;  forms  floated 
about  the  room,  and  the  whole  room  seemed  to  be  filled  with  a  white  vapor. 
My  bed  began  to  shake,  and  loud  raps  sounded  on  the  foot  and  head  of  my 
bed,  then  on  the  walls  and  doors.  After  standing  this  for  about  ten  minutes  I 
arose  and  made  a  light  and  smoked  a  cigar.  After  I  had  finished  my  cigar  I 
felt  more  confident,  and  made  up  my  mind  that  if  I  heard  any  more  raps  I 
would  ask  some  questions.  On  retiring  I  again  heard  raps,  and  on  questioning 
them  learned  that  they  wished  me  to  continue  my  evening  sittings,  which  I 
did,  and  from  that  date  the  rapid  unfoldrnent  of  powers  was  marked.  In 
holding  the  slates  I  felt  as  though  I  were  holding  on  to  a  small  battery.  I 
then  began  to  hear  distinct  raps  on  the  slates,  and  a  few  nights  later  I  realized 
that  they  were  manipulating  the  crumbs  of  pencil  I  had  placed  between  the 
slates,  and  after  I  had  sat  my  usual  time  I  found  a  number  of  small  pencil 
marks  on  the  slates.  Each  evening  brought  new  developments,  until  one 
evening  I  found  a  letter  "  A"  on  the  slates,  and  a  few  nights  later  I  found  the 
word  "  Patience  "  written  on  the  slates;  and  so  it  went  on  every  day  improving, 
until  in  February,  1885,  by  the  advice  of  my  spirit  friends,  I  gave  up  all  other 
pursuits  and  devoted  myself  to  the  exercise  of  my  mediumship  as  an  independ- 
ent slate-writer. 

I  found  that  each  month  improved  my  mediumship,  and  that  one  phase 
developed  another,  so  that  with  my  continued  sittings  I  not  only  developed 
independent  slate-writing  but  also  automatic  writing,  rapping,  clairaudience, 
clairvoyance,  physical  manifestations,  and  materialization,  and  have  demon- 
strated all  the  above  gifts  to  thousands  in  California.  I  gave  my  first  public 
seance  after  sitting  three  months  and  a  half  for  development.  I  found  that 
darkness  was  only  necessary  during  my  sitting  for  development,  and  when  I 
commenced  to  sit  for  the  public,  all  my  slate-writing  manifestations  were  given 
in  broad  daylight,  with  the  sun  shining  on  the  slates  held  in  the  investigator's 
own  hands. 

In  February,  1885,  Mr.  Evans  gave  his  first  professional 
seance,  since  which  time  he  has  been  constantly  employed.  At 
that  time  his  means  were  exhausted,  and  it  became  necessary 
that  he  should  receive  pay  for  the  exercise  of  his  gifts. 

On  the  twenty-first  of  June,  1886,  Mr.  Evans  went  before 


lUOGKAl'lllCAI.    SKlilCll.  25 

the  Society  of  Progressive  Spiritualists,  of  San  Francisco,  at 
Washington  Hall,  where  his  guide,  Spirit  John  Gray,  produced 
over  thirty  messages,  between  a  pair  of  sealed  slates  in  the 
hands  of  a  committee  chosen  by  the  audience.  The  slate  is 
given  herewith.  (We  may  add  that  all  slates  appearing  in  this 
volume  are  reduced  to  almost  three-fourths  of  their  original  size, 
excepting  the  one  printed  in  colors.)  The  committee  appointed 
to  conduct  this  seance  reported  as  follows : 

We,  the  undersigned  committee,  chosen  by  the  audience  at  a  public 
exhibition  of  independent  slate-writing,  given  by  Mr.  Fred  Evans  at  Wash- 
ington Hall,  on  Sundaj',  June  21,  1885,  testify  that  the  slates  used  were 
washed  and  sealed  in  our  presence  and  to  our  satisfaction,  and  during  the 
time  the  slates  were  in  use  they  were  not  removed  from  our  sight.  We 
distinctly  heard  the  fragments  of  pencil  between  the  slates  writing,  whilst 
holding  them  in  our  hands.  When  the  writing  was  finished,  which  was 
denoted  by  three  raps  on  the  slates,  Mr.  R.  B.  Hall  was  selected  by  the 
audience  to  break  the  seals  on  the  slates.  When  separated,  one  of  them  was 
completely  covered  with  writing  in  patchwork  form,  embracing  thirty  commu- 
nications, all  in  different  handwriting.  Each  member  of  the  Committee 
received  messages  signed  by  relatives  or  departed  friends;  the  remainder  of  the 
messages  was  recognized  by  different  persons  in  the  audience. 

The  exhibition  was  given  in  daylight  before  an  audience  of  about  400 
persons,  and  under  conditions  which  excluded  all  chance  of  trickery  or  fraud. 

Dr.  Thos.  C.  Kellev,  946  Mission  St. 

Mrs.  F.  C.  L.\ne,  3010  Folsom  St. 

William  Kelly,  202  Second  St. 

Again,  at  Scottish  Hall,  Mr.  Evans  did  similar  work  worthy 
of  note.  At  this  latter  seance  a  shrewd  real  estate  operator, 
sitting  in  the  back  part  of  the  audience,  wagered  twenty  dollars 
with  a  companion  that  if  he  could  be  chosen  as  one  of  the 
committee  to  examine  and  hold  the  slates,  no  writing  would 
appear  upon  the  slates  in  his  hands.  Thereupon  his  name  was 
called,  and  by  vote  of  the  audience  he  was  elected  as  one  of  the 
committee.  He  examined  his  slates  with  especial  care,  saw 
hat  they  were  thoroughly  washed,  dried  and  tied  together,  in  a 
manner  to  make  deception  impossible.      He  did  not  suffer  them 


lUOCUAIMlICAI,    SKKTCn.  27 

to  leave  his  hands  tor  a  moment,  nor  did  Mr.  I'^vans  even  touch 
them. 

He  declared  that  he  heard  the  pencil  scratching  between 
the  slates,  and  upon  opening  them  one  of  the  inner  surfaces  was 
covered  with  about  thirty  messages,  written  in  the  usual  patch- 
work manner  peculiar  to  this  psychic.  He  gave  it  up,  and  was 
quite  as  earnest  in  extolling  the  fact  as  he  was  at  first  in  declar- 
ing that  it  could  not  be  done. 

On  the  inner  surface  of  one  of  the  slates  held  by  the 
other  member  of  the  committee,  was  also  a  large  number 
of  messages.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  friends  of 
Mr.  Evans  were  delighted,  while  the  skeptics  present 
were  completely  bothered. 


FRED  EVANS  IN  SAN  JOSE. 

IN  the  spring  of  [887,  the  writer  went  with  Mr.  Evans  before 
a  large  and  intelHgent  audience  in  the  City  of  San  Jose, 
where,  under  crucial  test  conditions,  he  produced  about  eighty 
messages  upon  five  slates — the  slates  being  prepared  and  held 
by  a  skeptical  committee.  At  a  private  seance,  given  for  the 
benefit  of  the  press,  held  on  the  preceding  evening,  there  were 
present  ten  persons,  all  but  one  of  whom  had  been  or  were  then 
connected  with  the  press.  They  examined  and  prepared  the  slates 
in  their  own  way,  held  them  in  their  own  hands,  and  received 
some  eight  or  ten  messages  written  on  four  slates,  most  of  which 
were  of  a  private  nature.  One  of  the  messages,  written  in  red, 
white  and  blue,  was  from  Spirit  John  Gray,  and  reads  as  follows: 

Good  evening,  gentlemen.  I  am  glad  to  meet  you  here  investigating  this 
phenomenon.  I  hope  you  will  speak  of  it  as  you  find  it,  and  not  as  you  think, 
for  you  know  that  would  not  be  treating  the  medium  justly.  Always  be  char- 
itable, and  your  eyes  will  be  opened  to  see  truth  and  light,  but  bigotry  will 
blind  you.  I  will  give  each  of  you  a  manifestation  soon  that  will  add  another 
item  to  the  truth  of  spirit  return.     This  from  guide,  John  Gray. 

Upon  another  slate  "was  found,"  as  the  Tunes  report  of 
the  seance  has  it,  "  what  purported  to  be  a  communication  from 
the  late  Professor  H.  B.  Norton,  signed  by  him  in  a  hand 
exactly  resembling  his  signature."     It  reads  as  follows  : 

I  am  pleased  to  give  you  these  few  lines  as  an  evidence  of  spirit  power. 
We  do  not  wish  to  use  too  much  of  the  medium's  force  to-day.  But  at  an 
early  date  the  medium  will  give  you  a  better  chance  to  hold  communion  with 
your  spirit  friends.  I  am  pleased  to  have  found  that  my  old  ideas  of  hell, 
etc.,  were  unfounded,  and  that  the  realization  of  spirit  return  was  true.  Ah, 
well,  I  suppose  in  this  city  of  churches,  it  will  take  a  long  time  to  make  people 
understand  this  grand  truth,  but  all  will  realize  it  some  day. 

Yours  in  spirit,  H.  B.  Norton. 

Upon  another  of  the  slates  there  were  five  messages,  all  of 
a  private  nature.     The  editor  of  one  of  the  papers  received  a 


FRED  EVANS  IN  SAN  JOSE.  29 

long  message  upon  a  slate  held  by  himself,  purporting  to  come 
from  a  friend  in  spirit  life.  Of  this  preliminary  seance  the 
Times  says : 

We  have  complied  with  the  request  of  the  spirit  boss  to  speak  of  it  "as 
you  find  it  and  not  as  you  think;  "  and  our  readers  can  do  their  own  thinking 
on  the  subject  to  suit  themselves.  We  have  given  the  facts,  and  will  only 
remark  that  anyone,  having  seen  these  phenomena,  who  should  honestly  attrib- 
ute them  to  jugglery,  ought  to  be  placed  in  a  "  Home  for  the  Feeble 
Minded,"  provided  there  were  such  an  institution  for  adults. 

The  Mercury  says  of  this  seance  that  Mr.  Evans 
"succeeded  in  mystifying  all  present,"  and  adds:  "There  was 
no  chance  for  sleight-of-hand,  and  nothing  of  the  kind  was 
attempted.  The  trick,  if  trick  it  was,  could  not  be  satisfac- 
torily explained  by  the  witnesses." 

The  public  meeting,  given  at  the  Theatre  on  Sunday  even- 
ing, drew  forth  the  following  cautious  statement  from  the  same 
paper : 

There  was  a  large  audience,  and  the  introductory  address  was  made  by 
J.  J.  Owen,  editor  of  the  Golden  Gate.  A  committee,  consisting  of  S.  A. 
Bishop,  James  T.  Murphy,  and  Mr.  Wolcott,  was  appointed,  and  several  slates 
showed  writing  after  being  sealed  up.  A  stranger  from  San  Francisco  brought 
his  own  slates,  and  he  received  communications  upon  them  in  writing. 

To  state  the  details  of  all  that  occurred  at  said  meeting 
would  occupy  more  space  than  we  have  to  give  to  it.  It  may 
be  sufficient  to  know  that  the  committee  prepared  and  sealed 
the  slates  in  the  most  careful  manner,  never  for  a  moment 
allowing  them  to  leave  their  hands.  A  large  number  of  mes- 
sages was  not  only  obtained  between  these  slates,  but  one  pair 
of  large  slates,  securely  fastened  together  and  sealed,  and 
brought  to  the  meeting  by  a  person  in  the  audience,  had  both 
of  their  inner  surfaces  written  full.  One  of  the  messages  on 
these  slates,  from  Spirit  John  Gray,  was  written  in  seven  colors. 
Thus,  si.x  slates  in  all,  containing  about  one  hundred  distinct 
messages,  ranging  from  a  few  to  as  many  as  eighty  words,  were 
given,  together  with  a  fine  likeness  of  Professor  Hare,  and   all 


30  PSVCHOCiRArHY. 

under  conditions  that  would  render  deception  impossible.  Some 
of  the  messages  contained  several  names,  and  nearly  all  of  them 
were  recognized  by  persons  in  the  audience. 

We  give  the  following  as  a  sample  of  the  messages  found 
within  the  sealed  slates  :  (The  first  was  written  within  the  slate 
of  a  stranger  present,  who  requested  that  writing  be  produced 
within  his  own  slates.) 

My  Dear  Son: — It  is  with  feelings  of  the  greatest  happiness  that  I  write 
these  few  lines  to  you.  I  know  that  it  is  hard  for  you  to  believe  that  spirits 
can  come  back  and  manifest  for  you  in  this  manner.  But  you  must  admit  of 
its  truth  when  such  evidence  as  this  is  given  you.  I  know  that  you  often  will 
meet  with  opposition  at  your  home  when  you  accept  Spiritualism  as  a  truth. 
But  you  must  know  that  its  knowledge  will  make  a  happier  and  better  man  of 
you,  for  it  will  teach  you  to  look  forward  to  a  brighter  and  better  future. 
And  the  knowledge  that  those  whom  you  love  can  see  many  of  your  acts  will 
prompt  you  to  do  better  things.  I  can  see  a  bright  future  before  you,  Frank, 
my  son,  and  will  do  all  I  can  to  prompt  you  in  the  right.  This  from  your 
loving  father  in  spirit,  Joseph  Zepf. 

This  message  was  from  the  spirit  father  of  the  holder  of 
the  slate.  Several  of  the  following  messages  also  appeared  on 
this  slate.  Mr.  Zepf  had  fastened  the  frames  of  his  slates 
together  at  the  corners  with  screws,  countersunk  the  heads  of 
the  screws  into  the  wood,  and  filled  the  places  with  sealing  wax. 
Mr.  Zepf  declared  to  us  that  he  had  tried  several  times  to  obtain 
a  sitting  with  Mr.  Evans,  but  had  always  found  him  engaged. 
On  learning  that  he  was  going  to  give  a  public  seance  in  San 
Jose,  he  had  prepared  his  own  slates  and  followed  him  to  that 
town,  with  the  result  as  stated  above. 

I  have  come  to  assure  my  father  and  mother,  whose  names  are  VV.  C.  and 
S.  E.  Wilson,  that  I  have  found  a  happier  home  in  the  spirit  world. 

James  Wilson. 

To  Judge  Belden — Dear  Frieyid . — 1  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking 
you  for  the  kind  and  feeling  remarks  you  offered  in  consolation  to  my  family. 
This  is  true.  Judge,  although  I  know  that  you  doubt  it,  but  will  find  it  out 
soon.  *  Judge   McKee. 

;  in  less  than  a  year  ihereaftcr  Tu'lge  Belden  passed  on  tii 


I  RKl)    KVANS    IN     SAN    JOSK.  31 

Tell  my  mother  and  father,  Mack  and  Mary  Davis,  that  their  son  is 
happy.  IviHF.L  Davis. 

I  am  overjoyed  in  being  able  to  write  a  few  words  to  you,  just  to  acknowl- 
edge my  presence.     This  from  Elizabeth  Vintek. 

Tell  my  papa  and  mamma,  and  brother  Alden,  that  their  little  son,  Josie 
Anderson,  is  here. 

The  spirit  of  Mary  K.  Chase  sends  love  to  her  husband. 

J.   \V.  Chase. 

To  Mv  Mother,  Olivia,  and  Mv  Fathir,  S.  H.  Amhler— Z)<far 
Parents: — I  am  so  happy  to  find  that  I  can  write  and  assure  you  of  this 
grand  truth  of  spirit  return.     This  from  your  son,  Frank  A.  Ambler. 

The  spirits  of  Mary  Ellen  and  E.  L.  Bradley  wish  to  be  remembered  to 
their  loved  ones  left  behind.  E.  L.  Bradley. 

To  Mv  Son,  K.  J.  Corv  : — My  son,  I  am  joined  with  your  mother,  Eliza 
.'\nn,  and  sister,  Adalina,  and  Susan  Williamson,  in  sending  love  to  you  and 
your  brother,  Ben.  Your  son,  Bertie,  is  also  here  and  sends  love  to  yourself 
and  to  your  dear  wife.  Your  father,  J.  M.  Corv. 

The  names  and  relatlonship.s  of  these  spirits  were  recog- 
nized as  correct. 

(_;harles,  my  boy,  I  am  pleased  to  write  a  few  lines  to  you.  I  hope  you 
will  not  be  afraid  to  acknowledge  this  truth,  for  all  will  realize  it  sooner  or 
later.  James  and  Marv  Shortridc.e. 

To  \l.  S.  Harrison  : — I  have  been  waiting  anxiously  for  the  time  when  I 
could  manifest  through  you  alone,  for  I  know  by  that  means  I  could  convince 
many  of  a  future  life,  and  of  the  power  of  spirits  to  return.  I  must  tell  you 
that  you  will  soon  hear  of  news  that  will  benefit  you,  both  financially  and 
socially.     This  from  the  spirits  of  F^lua  and  E.  Harrison. 

The  spirits  of  Mary  and  James  Shively  send  best  wishes  to  R.  O.  Shively, 
with  assurance  of  their  happiness  in  the  spirit  world. 

It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  come  back  and  prove  to  you  that  I  am  not 
parted  from  you  forever;  but  that  we  will  meet  again  to  part  no  more. 

.Arthur  DeI.acv  and  Mary  DeL.acy. 

Dear  David  ;— I  and  our  children,  Nellie  and  I.utie,  send  love  to  you. 
This  from  your  loving  wife  in  spirit,  Nellie  Williams. 

Tell  my  husband,  Rev.  .\mos  Jones,  that  Spiritualism  is  true.      His  wife, 

Helen  Jones. 


32  PSYCHOGKAPHY. 

Please  tell  Mr.  E.  O.  Smith  that  Elizabeth  and  James  Smith  are  with  him 
in  spirit. 

Father  dear,  I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  though  I  am  absent  in  body. 

Emma  Gordon. 

Give  my  love  to  ray  father,  Ira  Moore.     From  his  daughter  in  spirit, 

Caroline  Moore. 

My  Dear  Mamma: — Your  daughter,  Cecil,  is  here,  and  happy  in  her 
spirit  home.  I  am  joined  with  Grandpapa  Cornelius  Huyck  in  sending  love 
to  you.     This  from  your  loving  daughter,  Cecil  Baird. 

The  spirit  of  Davis  Divine  wishes  to  be  kindly  remembered  to  the  dear 
ones  he  has  left  behind. 

We  give  but  a  few  of  the  scores  of  messages  upon  these 
slates,  some  of  them  written  so  fine  that  they  can  scarcely  be 
deciphered.  They  consist  mainly  of  loving  greetings,  with 
names  of  those  who  have  passed  on  to  the  other  life.  It  is  the 
fact  and  manner  of  the  writing,  rather  than  the  character  of  the 
message,  in  which  the  public  will  naturally  find  the  greatest 
interest.  That  there  was  any  chance  for  deception,  or  that  there 
was  the  slightest  suspicious  circumstance  attending  this  remark- 
able exhibition,  no  fair-minded  person  present  will  aver.  The 
committee  chosen  by  the  audience  to  prepare  and  seal  the  slates 
were  most  thorough  in  their  work.  They  are  honest,  just  men, 
who  would  stand  no  trifling  or  nonsense  in  a  matter  of  this  kind. 

The  San  Jose  Nezvs^oi  March  14th,  and  the  Times,  of  the 
I5thj  give  long  and  very  fair  reports  of  this  meeting,  the  latter 
journal  copying  many  of  the  messages  received,  and  describing 
the  careful  manner  in  which  the  slates  were  prepared  by  the 
committee,  and  all  confirming  the  essential  facts  herein  set  forth. 
It  is  not  so  much  the  communications  themselves  as  it  is  the 
manner  in  which  they  are  produced,  that  concerns  the  public. 

We  will  add,  for  the  information  of  those  present  who 
discovered  some  errors  in  names,  and  also  a  similarity  in  the 
chirography  of  the  messages,  that  it  is  not  claimed  that  the 
writing  was  done  in  each  or  any  instance  by  the  spirit  from  whom 
the  message  purports  to  come.     Until  the  spirits  learn  to  control 


FKKn  EVANS  IN  SAN  JOSK.  33 

the  conditions  themselves,  they  must  necessarily  write  tlirouj^han 
aniamiensis.  We  have  found  that  with  practice  they  soon  learn 
to  write  for  themselves,  and  then  the  messages  come  in  their 
own  handwriting.  (Spirit  "  John  Gray  "explains  this  matter  in 
an  able  article  written  by  himself  further  on.)  The  spirit  father 
of  the  writer,  also  a  wife  and  brother  in  spirit  life,  from  each  of 
whom  we  have  had  many  communications  through  various 
psychics,  have  mastered  the  conditions  and  invariably  write  in 
their  old,  familiar  hands. 

Of  the  exhibition  as  a  whole,  we  venture  to  say  that  it  is 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  modern  phenomena  for  its  conclu- 
sive demonstration  of  spirit  power. 


He* 


nee  given  in  San  Jose,  Cal., 


PSYCHOMO    LODGE. 

BRED  EVANS  is  one  of  tlic  few  psychics  of  our  acciuaiiit- 
ance  who,  in  addition  to  his  peculiar  gifts,  possesses  fine 
business  qualities.  By  careful  ventures  and  investments, 
coupled  with  his  psychical  work,  he  has  secured  for  himself  a 
fine  home  in  San  Francisco,  valued  at  some  $20,000;  also  a 
beautiful  resort  in  the  Santa  Cruz  Mountains,  with  a  neat  little 
cottage  and  six  acres  of  choice  fruit  land  planted  to  trees. 
Thither  he  goes  with  his  family  for  rest  and  recreation,  when 
his  nerve  forces  need  the  baptism  of  rest  and  the  re-invigor- 
ating touch  of  nature. 

The  following  article,  by  the  writer,  in  the  Golden  Gate, 
written  on  the  occasion  of  a  visit  to,  and  the  dedication  of, 
Psychomo  Lodge,  may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  It  is  entitled, 
"The  Beautiful  Hills:" 

''  The  Coast  Range  of  hills  south  of  San  Francisco  affords 
an  unending  variety  of  charming  locations  for  rural  homes.  The 
soil  is  the  best  in  the  world  for  general  fruit  culture,  and  the 
climate  unsurpassed  for  healthfulness  and  equable  temperature, 
and  there  are  cosy  little  nooks,  here  and  there,  with  patches  of 
landscape — glimpses  of  mountain,  lake,  valley  and  sky — that 
no  art  can  imitate,  no  pen  describe. 

"  Just  such  a  gem  of  a  place  is  this  hitherto  unnamed  brochure 
of  the  Santa  Cruz  hills  (this  day,  Sunday,  June  15,  1890,  chris- 
tened 'Psychomo  Lodge'),  the  property  of  our  psychographic 
friend,  Mr.  Fred  Evans,  where  the  writer  and  wife,  with  their 
genial  hosts,  are  spanning,  with  a  rainbow  arch  of  glory,  a 
couple  of  restful  days. 

''  I  wish  I  could  describe  the  scene  that  spreads  out  before 
me  from  the  open  doorway  where  I  pen  these  lines.  First  let  me 
.say  that,  about  three  years  ago,  Mr.  Evans  purchased  six  acres 
of  wild  hill  land,  located  on   the  westerlv  margin  of  one  of  tiie 


3b  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

San  Jose  Water  Company's  mountain  reservoirs,  about  two  miles 
from  the  Alma  Station,  on  the  South  Pacific  Coast  railroad. 
About  four  acres  of  this  land  were  at  once  cleared  of  the  brush, 
brought  under  cultivation,  and  planted  to  choice  fruit  trees.  A 
neat  cottage  was  erected  on  a  charming  little  plateau  overlook- 
ing the  lake,  a  place  that  nature  seems  to  have  designed 
especially  for  that  purpose,  and  thither  the  owner  comes,  at 
times,  for  that  rest  and  recuperation  he  needs  to  supply  the 
exhaustive  waste  of  vitality,  caused  by  the  practice  of  his 
mediumship. 

"  Psychomo  Lodge  is  distant  only  a  three  hours'  run  from  San 
Francisco,  and  the  trip  may  easily  be  made  after  business  hours, 
with  an  hour  to  spare  for  black  bass  fishing  in  the  clear  deep  waters 
of  the  lake.  (And  here  I  will  say,  parenthetically,  and  as  a  sort 
of  background  for  the  sketch  I  hope  soon  to  attempt,  that  this 
reservoir  forms  a  lake  about  thirty  acres  in  extent.  The  water 
is  deep,  pure  and  sparkling,  and  is  one  of  the  sources  of  water 
supply  for  the  City  of  San  Jose.  Of  course,  it  is  private  prop- 
erty, with  all  the  rights  and  hereditaments  thereunto  belonging, 
of  which  the  right  to  fish  therein  is  one,  but  which  right  may  be 
temporarily  waived,  in  favor  of  any  good  citizen,  for  a  small  fee, 
to  him  in  hand  paid,  the  faithful  watch  and  warden  of  the  place, 
Mr.  Wm.  Chilcote.  This  fee  includes  the  use  of  boats,  fishing 
tackle,  etc.  Were  it  not  thus,  the  lake  would  soon  be  despoiled 
of  its  finny  tenants  by  the  kingfishers  of  the  cities,  and  the 
limpid  waters  thereof  be  desecrated  by  the  unwashed  elements 
of  society.) 

"  Overlooking  this  beautiful  body  of  water,  at  an  altitude 
of  about  one  hundred  feet,  sits  Psychomo  Lodge.  Beyond  the 
lake,  and  to  the  right  and  left,  are  rolling  hills,  hooded  with 
green  vineyards  and  orchards,  and  dotted  with  the  cheerful  and 
pretty  homes  of  the  inhabitants.  Beyond,  and  about  two  miles 
distant,  a  remarkable  depression  in  the  inner  rim  of  hills  skirt- 
ing the  far-famed  Santa  Clara  Valley,  opens  the  eager  and  pene- 


PSYCHOMO    LODGE.  37 

trant  gaze  to  that  Elysian  vale  of  beauty  and  industry,  where 
sit  enthroned,  with  clasped  hands,  the  royal  Saints  Jose  and 
Clara.  On  and  on,  across  this  exquisite  plane  of  twenty  miles 
of  farms  and  orchards,  rises  the  other  rim  to  the  valley — a 
cloud  bank  of  hills  in  the  shadowy  haze  of  distance,  gray  and 
mellow,  as  the  mountains  that  uplift  themselves  in  the  soft  twi- 
light of  our  dreams.  Highest  and  most  conspicuous  among 
these  gray  billows  of  land,  Mt.  Hamilton  raises  its  proud  head, 
garlanded  with  stars,  and  the  white  dome  of  the  great  Observa- 
tory flashes  back  to  me  an  echo  of  the  persistent  query  of  my 
longing  soul.  What  ?  Whence  ?  Wherefore  ? 

''  This  view,  one  of  the  grandest  that  ever  ravished  the  eye 
of  sense,  and  which  nowhere  else  in  all  this  range  of  mountains 
can  be  equaled,  lies  before  me,  on  this  bright  June  day,  a  pano- 
rama of  marvelous  beauty.  Surely,  some  good  angel  must 
have  guided  our  Fred's  footsteps  to  this  delectable  retreat. 

"Perhaps  it  was  the  magnetism  of  such  grand  natural  scenery 
as  this  that  inspired  the  brain  of  the  gifted  young  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Belle  Baker,  a  near  neighbor  of  Psychomo  Lodge,  to 
catch  the  golden  threads  of  the  sunsets,  weave  them  into  shapes 
of  beauty  with  the  gray,  purple  and  green  of  these  Beautiful 
Hills,  and  impinge  the  creations  of  her  fancy  upon  canvas. 
Miss  Ada  is  a  close  and  careful  student  of  the  art  she  loves  so 
well.  She  has  done  some  excellent  work,  and  will  yet  do 
greater  things  in  the  coming  years. 

"  Last  evening,  as  the  sun  sank  behind  the  western  hills,  and 
the  twilight  shadows  began  to  temper  the  summer's  fervid  glow 
upon  the  waters  of  the  lake,  our  party,  intent  upon  a  fish  banquet, 
glided  out  in  a  small  boat  to  try  their  luck.  A  dozen  fine  bass 
rewarded  our  efforts,  most  of  which  were  caught  by — one  of  us  ! 
Later  on,  a  friendly  piscatorial  odor  stole  upon  and  permeated 
the  evening  air  from  the  kitchen,  and  still  later  several  dis- 
carded spinal  remembrances  of  the  feast,  with  their  accompany- 
ing side  bones,  were  pitched  into  the  waste,  and  we  arose  with 


38 


PSYCHOGRAPHY. 


a  blessing  upon  the  Infinite  Energy  thai  invented  black  bass! 
Really,  the  fish  are  fine  and  fat,  a  fact  which  is  apt  to  weaken 
the  tenure  of  their  existence. 

''  Would  that  we  could  take  these  outings  oftener — once  a 
week  would  not  come  too  often.  Every  brain  worker  needs  them 
to  get  the  best  out  of  himself;  for  there  is  no  strain  upon  the 
energies  like  that  of  hard  thinking.  It  uses  up  the  oil  ot 
life  as  in  a  furnace,  and  the  brain  and  spirit  need  reoxidizing 
and  revivifying  with  the  fresh  breath  of  the  forests  and  hills, 
and  a  new  impulse  from  the  magnetic  batteries  of  our 
good  mother.   Nature." 


EXTRAORDINARY  PHENOMENA. 


BR.  JOHN  ALLYN.  an  old  and  honored  physician  ot" 
St.  Helena,  Cah'fornia,  wrote  tlie  following  article  for 
the   Golden  Gate  : 

Editor  of  Golden  Gale: — I  deem  an  account  of  the  following  extraor- 
dinary phenomena  worthy  of  record  in  your  paper,  not  to  advertise  the 
medium,  though  he  is  certainly  worthy  of  his  fee,  but  tr)  encourage  truth- 
seekers  and  skeptics  to  investigate  for  themselves. 

On  the  third  of  May,  I  purchased  a  pair  of  new  slates  and  took  thcni  to 
the  rooni.s  of  Mr.  Evans.  It  was  mid-day  when  we  took  seats  opposite  each 
other  by  table.  I  had  previously  cut  one  of  the  initials  of  my  name  on  the 
frame  of  each  slate.  Unwrapping  the  slates  and  looking  again  to  see  that 
they  were  clean,  I  handed  them  to  Mr.  Evans,  who  took  them  and  tied  them 
together  with  wrapping  twine,  then  sealed  them  with  sealing-wax  in  the  four 
places  where  the  twine  crossed  the  frames  and  also  where  the  twine 
was  tied;  a  bit  of  pencil  was  placed  between,  previously.  I  then,  after 
writing  three  names  on  a  ballot,  which  was  folded  up  and  placed  on 
the  slates,  took  them  in  my  two  hands.  Mr.  Evans  took  another  slate 
and  washed  it  clean,  threw  it  upon  the  carpet  about  four  feet  from  us, 
with  a  bit  of  pencil  beneath.  Soon  the  table  seemed  to  be  charged  with 
some  invisible  force,  as  there  was  a  fusillade  of  small  raps.  Soon  I  heard 
the  writing  between  the  sealed  slates,  which  continued  for  about  fifteen 
minutes,  when  three  raps  from  the  inside  of  the  slates  indicated  that  the 
writing  was  finished.  Mr.  Evans  asked  how  many  messages  were  written  on 
these  slates,  and  there  were  four  raps.  I  then  raised  the  slates  from  the 
carpet  and  found  the  under  side  written  full  and  signed  "  Matthew  Allyn." 
Without  opening  the  slates  I  put  them  in  my  valise  and  brought  them  home. 
I  called  in  a  few  friends,  among  them  two  editors  of  weekly  papers.  I 
explained  how  the  writing  was  done;  stated  that  I  was  certain  there  was  no 
writing  when  the  slates  were  sealed,  and  that  I  was  confident  there  were  four 
messages  signed  by  different  parties,  two  of  whom  I  knew,  and  two  I  did  not 
know.  I  said  one  would  be  signed  by  my  mother,  and  one  by  Swedenborg, 
as  I  had  placed  these  names  written  on  a  ballot  and  folded  closed  upon  the 
slates.     I   then  cut  the  twine,  opened  them,  and  found  the  surfaces  covered 


40  PSYCHOGRAPHV. 

with  four  messages,  one  signed  by  Swedenborg,  one  by  Clara  Allyn,  one  by 
J.  Allyn,  and  one  by  E.  Allyn,  his  wife;  the  two  latter  passed  away  forty 
years  ago. 

In  the  writing  there  are  evidences  of  the  identity  of  the  writers,  but  to 
point  them  out  would  make  this  article  too  long.  John   Allyn. 

St.  Helena,  Cal.,  May,  1886. 

CHALLENGE. 

St.  Helena,  Cal.,  May  18,  1886. 
For  the  purpose  of  stimulating  investigation  into  the  significance  of 
certain  slate-writings  had  by  the  undersigned  on  the  third  of  May,  1886, 
with  Fred  Evans,  I  make  the  following  offer  :  To  any  sleight-of-hand 
performer  who  will  show  that  said  writings  were  done  by  trickery  or  fraud,  or 
will  do  the  same  on  equally  test  conditions  and  explain  the  same,  $1000.  To 
any  scientist  who  will  do  the  same  by  any  forces  known  to  science  or  any 
law  unknown  to  science  hitherto,  and  prove  the  same,  $iooo.  In  all  of  these 
cases  the  fact  and  hypothesis  of  Spiritualism  must  be  excluded. 

John  Allyn. 

The  challenge  has  never  been  accepted,  and  is  not  at  all 
likely  to  be. 


A  SLATE  OF  MANY  LANGUAGES. 

BRI£I)  EVANS  is  a  great  home  body.  Although  his  name 
and  fame  are  world-wide  as  a  slate-writing  psychic,  he 
rarely  leaves  San  Francisco,  notwithstanding  the  great 
demand  for  him  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  We  accompanied 
him  once  on  a  professional  tour  to  the  southern  portion  of 
California,  his  wife  going  with  us  ;  and  once,  with  his  wife,  he 
visited  Australia,  remaining  for  more  than  a  year,  whereof  we 
shall  speak  hereafter.  It  is  more  difficult  now  than  ever  for 
him  to  leave  home,  as  he  is  the  proud  father  of  two  beautiful 
baby  girls,  to  whom,  with  their  mother,  he  is  deeply  devoted. 

Most  of  our  experiments  in  psychography  with  Mr.  Evans 
were  procured  at  his  own  home.  Such  was  the  case  with  the 
remarkable  slate,  a  fac  simile  of  which  we  present  in  this  con- 
nection. 

This  slate,  which  has  been  copied  in  nearly  all  of  the  spir- 
itual papers  of  the  world,  as  well  as  by  many  secular  papers, 
which  we  regard  as  the  finest  instance  of  psychography  yet  given 
to  the  world,  was  obtained  in  the  presence  of  the  author  and 
his  wife. 

Mr.  Evans  is  a  young  man  with  only  a  moderate  English 
education.  No  one  who  knows  him  believes  him  capable  of 
writing  such  a  slate  as  this;  and  to  suppose  that  the  various 
writings  and  languages  could  have  been  placed  thereon  by 
persons  competent  to  do  the  same,  would  be  to  suppose  that 
such  educated  persons  would  become  parties  to  a  stupendous 
deception,  involving  the  crime  of  forgery.  The  history  of  this 
slate  is  as  follows  : 

In  September,  iS86,  the  author  having  in  contemplation 
the  publication  of  a  holiday  number  of  the  Golden  Gate,  called 


[Slate  of  twelve  languages,  inodiiced  under  al.solulely  lest  conditions  through  the  psychic 
power  of  Fred  livans.] 


A    SLATE    OK    MANY    LANGUAGES.  43 

upon  Mr.  I{vans,  accompanied  by  his  wife,  for  the  purpose  of 
consuhing-  with  him,  or  rather  with  his  psychographic  jjuide, 
Spirit  John  Gray,  concerning  the  preparation  of  a  slate,  that 
we  could  have  engraved,  which  should  bear  upon  its  face  some 
intellectual  evidence  of  genuineness;  as  any  slate,  written  in 
English,  no  matter  how  crucial  the  conditions  under  which  it 
was  prepared,  would  be  positive  evidence  only  to  those  kmnvintr 
to  the  facts. 

Our  first  interview  was  on  Sunday,  September  ii,  1886, 
at  ten  o'clock  A.  m.  Besides  the  invisibles,  only  the  three 
persons  above  mentioned  were  present.  Sitting  at  a  table,  in 
the  full  light  of  day,  Mr.  Gray  instantly  signaled  his  presence 
by  raps  upon  the  table,  when  we  explained  to  him  our  object, 
inquiring  if  it  was  possible  for  him  to  bring  together  a  number 
of  spirits  of  different  earthly  nationalities,  who  could  furnish  us 
short  messages  in  their  native  languages.  He  replied  that  he 
thought  he  could  do  so,  answering  our  questions  either  by 
writing  independently,  by  telegraphic  rapping  (which  Mr. 
Evans  has  learned  to  read),  or  by  writing  automatically  through 
his  instrument's  hand.  He  at  once  entered  heartily  into  our 
plans. 

It  was  found,  as  has  usually  been  our  e.xperience  when 
sitting  with  psychics  for  this  phase,  that  our  i)resence  afforded 
a  strong  assisting  battery,  and  that  the  writing  came  with  great 
readiness,  three  and  four  slates  being  written  upon  simultane- 
ously, and  all  without  the  slightest  attempt  at  concealment. 

The  controlling  influence  requested  that  we  meet  Mr.  Evans 
at  the  same  hour  for  a  few  Sundays,  and  hold  the  same  slate, 
when  he  could  more  fully  determine  his  ability  in  the  matter. 
We  placed  a  private  mark  upon  the  slate,  which  we  had  then 
held  for  a  few  minutes,  and  it  was  laid  aside  until  the  following 
Sunday.* 

*  In  captiously  questioning  the  genuineness  of  this  sl.ite,  a  son  of  the  eminent  psychic, 
D.  D.  Home,  says  we  did  not  state  that  our  private  mark  was  still  upon  the  slate  after  the  mes- 


44  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

On  the  second  Sunday  writing  came  freely  upon  other  slates 
lying  upon  the  table,  and  upon  some  placed  on  the  floor  near 
where  we  were  sitting,  but  none  upon  the  slate  under  our  hands. 
Mr.  Gray  assured  us  that  he  was  getting  along  finely — that  he 
was  sure  he  would  be  able  to  procure  writing  in  several 
languages.  He  recognized  the  excellent  conditions  we  fur- 
nished him,  and  expressed  himself  as  greatly  pleased  with  the 
experiment. 

On  the  third  Sunday,  September  25th,  we  were  promptly 
on  hand,  as  before.  The  slate  containing  our  private  mark  was 
taken  by  Mr.  Evans  and  first  thoroughly  rubbed  on  both  sides 
with  a  cloth  slightly  dampened  with  his  saliva — (not  a  very  neat 
way  of  cleansing  a  slate,  but  Mr.  Evans  says  the  writing  comes 
much  more  readily  when  the  slates  are  thus  prepared).  He 
then  handed  the  slate  to  us,  and  we  (Mrs.  Owen  and  the  writer) 
were  both  fully  satisfied  that  there  was  no  writing  upon  the 
slate.  From  that  moment  the  slate  never  left  our  hands,  nor 
was  it  for  an  instant  out  of  our  sight.  A  small  bit  of  slate 
pencil  was  placed  upon  the  table,  and  we  placed  the  slate  over  it, 
with  our  four  hands  resting  thereon.  Mr.  Evans,  sitting  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  touched  the  outer  edge  of  the 
slate  frame  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  removed  his  hands 
entirely.  In  about  five  minutes  loud  raps  signalled  that  the  writ- 
ing was  finished.  We  raised  the  slate  and  found  the  under  side 
covered  as  seen  in  the  engraving. 

Two  other  slates,  which  had  been  prepared  in  like  manner 
and  placed  upon  the  floor,  with  a  bit  of  pencil  between,  were 
found  at  the  close  of  the  seance  written  full.  As  the  message 
purports  to  come  from  the  controlling  spirit,  and  relates  to  the 
main  work  in  hand,  we  give  it : 


sages  were  written,  an  omission  which  we  will  here  correct.  The  mark  was  and  is  still  there. 
Another  criticism,  by  Wm.  Emmette  Coleman,  was  that  the  Greek  was  not  the  kind  cf  Greek 
written  in  the  days  of  Socrates.  Spirit  John  Gray  explains  that  the  Greek  of  the  Ancient 
Grecians  is  necessarily  passed  down  through  the  brains  of  modern  spirits  of  that  nationality, 
until  it  is  finajly  impressed  upon  the  brain  of  the  psychic's  guide,  who  gives  it  to  the  best  of 
his  ability.     So  it  is  with  all  languages  with  which  he  is  not  familiar. 


A    SLATE    01'"    MANY    LANGUAGES.  45 

My  Dear  Frikxds,  iMr.  and  Mrs.  Owen: — I  see  your  object  is  to  create 
an  interest  among  skeptics  of  spiritual  phenomena  and  cause  them  to  investi- 
gate. I  entered  in  with  your  feelings,  and  have  succeeded  in  inducing  twelve 
spirits  of  different  nationality  to  write  a  few  words  in  the  language  they  used 
when  on  earth.  You  will,  no  doubt,  find  many  defects,  but  we  have  done  the 
best  we  can,  and  you  must  accept  it  with  the  knowledge  that  these  spirits 
never  wrote  through  the  medium  before;  therefore,  they  arc  at  a  disadvantage; 
and  there  is  also  a  difficulty  in  bringing  them  here  to  write,  for,  as  you  will 
understand,  there  is  no  attraction  for  them.  But  I  have  the  medium,  yourself 
and  wife,  for  an  attraction.  You  will  see  that  the  languages  written  embrace 
Chinese,  Japanese,  Egyptian,  Old  Asiatic,  Hebrew,  German,  Italian,  French, 
Spanish,  Greek,  Norwegian  and  English.  Wishing  your  dear  wife,  yourself 
and  the  Golden  Gate  every  prosperity,  I  am  your  friend  and  well  wisher  in 
spirit,  John  Gr.w. 

Of  the  messages  given  there  are  some  defects,  as  Mr.  Gray 
says  may  be  expected ;  but  on  the  whole  we  regard  the  writing 
as  most  remarkable,  the  Asiatic  languages  especially,  of  which 
but  very  few  of  our  own  race  have  ever  acquired  anything  more 
than  an  imperfect  speaking  knowledge.  A  learned  professor, 
who  assisted  in  the  translations,  thinks  there  is  not  a  scholar  in 
San  Francisco  who  can  write  all  the  languages  given  upon  this 
slate.     Following  are  the  translations  of  the  writings  : 

German — I  have  found  an  easy  way  for  making  known  to  science  the 
proof  of  the  return  of  the  dead  to  this  earth,  and  I  shall  soon  give  it  to  the 
world.  Professor  Zollner. 

Italian— I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  write  you  a  few  lines  to  aid  in  proving 
the  truth  of  a  future  life.  Count  Rozzl\. 

French — Monsieur  Gray. — I  have  acquitted  myself  of  your  com- 
mission. M.  Fremont. 

Greek — I  come  to  say  this — seek  for  better  things — think  well  of  all. 

Socrates. 

Spanish — My  Dear  Friend,  Sr.  Don  Orven: — Rich  or  wise  as  a  man 
may  be,  don't  let  him  be  proud.  It  is  from  a  King,  Agesilaus,  we  have  that 
grand  maxim,  "that  one  is  not  great  only  as  far  as  he  is  just." 

Don  Juan  Alviso. 

Norwegian— I  am  here. — Herr  Holle. 

Chinese — I  write  a  few  words  for  you. — Lu  Yeun. 


46 


PSYCHOGRAPHY. 


Japanese — How  do  you  do? — Oyama  Centura. 

Hebrew — [This  is  a  name  of  a  book,  describing  the  killing  of  animals 
according  to  the  Jewish  rites.] 

The  writing  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner  is  claimed  to  be 
Egyptian,  which  we  were  unable  to  translate.  We  submitted 
the  matter  to  John  Gray,  when  he  wrote  the  following:  "  I 
give  it  to  you  as  received  by  me.  The  Egyptian  reads  :  '  Yea, 
the  spirit  of  man  shall  live  forever. — Nefo;'  who  was  an  old 
Egyptian  seer." 

The  cuniform  characters  just  below  the  Egyptian  comprise 
the  letters  of  the  words  "  Tom  Paine."  * 

My  Dear  Friend  Mr.  Owen: — I  have  succeeded  in  bringing  the  above 
spirit  friends  together  and  inducing  them  to  write  a  few  words  in  their  earthly 
language,  as  a  test  of  spirit  return.     This  is  the  best  we  can  do.     Good-bye. 

John  Gray. 

To  set  at  rest  any  idea  that  may  be  entertained  that  this 
writing  was  a  transference  from  our  own  minds,  we  will  say  that 
with  the  exception  of  some  little  knowledge  of  French  and  less 
of  Spanish,  the  English  language    is   the  only   language  with 


:  cabalistic  characters  is  gv 


ah 


lunopqK         Xy^ 

The  first  letter  of  the  English  alphabet  is  made  thus:     J,  a;  the  addition  of  a  dot  con 


stitutes   the  second  letl 
writing  is  easily  read .     For 


o  the   end   of  the  alphabet.     With   this  key  the 
Tom  Paine  "  is  written  thus: 


>  n   "1  n  _j  D   ~i  L 

T     0     M     P     A      I      N      E 

These  cuniform  characters  are  demonstrated  by  a  learned  writer  in  the  MeJiiim  a. 
Daybreak  to  be  of  great  antiquity.  Their  adaptation  to  the  English  language  is,  of  course 
modern  affair. 


A    SLATE    OK    MANV    LANGUAGES.  47 

wliich  we  are  familiar.  We  positively  know  that  the  writing 
was  not  clone  by  any  mortal  hand.  As  we  have  in  our  posses- 
sion the  slate  upon  which  it  was  written,  any  one  interested  can 
satisfy  himself  that  the  writing  is  by  no  chemical  preparation, 
as  the  fine  particles  of  slate  caused  by  the  attrition  of  the  pencil 
over  the  surface  of  the  slate  can  readily  be  seen. 

We  have  given,  in  the  above  statement,  the  simple  facts ; 
the  skeptical  reader  may  explain  them  as  best  he  may. 

We  desire  to  call  attention  to  some  evidence  of  genuineness 
of  this  slate  other  than  that  of  those  who  witnessed  it  and  know 
that  the  writing  was  done  by  no  mortal  hand. 

Of  course,  we  do  not  claim  that  the  messages  were  written 
in  each  instance  by  the  spirits  of  the  persons  from  whom  they 
purport  to  come  ;  in  fact,  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  most  of 
them  may  have  been  written  by  the  psychographic  guide  of 
Mr.  Evans  while  under  the  psychological  control  of  said  spirits 
— ^just  as  a  German  spirit,  for  instance,  might  influence  a  sensi- 
tive who  had  no  knowledge  of  German,  to  speak  or  write  that 
language.  It  would  naturally  be  more  or  less  imperfect-  it  is 
the  /act,  and  not  the  nature  of  the  writing,  in  the  manner 
claimed  for  it,  that  we  desire  to  establish.* 

Now,  the  skeptic  will  naturally  insist  that  we  were 
deceived — that  the  slate  we  held  in  our  hands,  and  upon  which 
we  know  there  was  no  writing,  was  not  the  slate  that  we  found  in 
our  hands  at  the  conclusion  of  the  seance,  and  upon  which  the 
writing  appeared — that  in  some  mysterious  way  the  slate  was 
changed  in  our  hands. 

Let  us,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  assume  that  this  was  the 
case.     Then,  the  writing   must  have   been   placed   thereon  by 

*  It  is  the  imperfection  of  many  of  these  messages  that  has  led  various  critics,  ignorant 
of  the  law  governing  the  transference  of  thought  on  the  spirit  side  of  life,  to  question  their 
genuineness.  The  late  Colonel  Bundy,  editor  of  the  Religio-Philosophical  /ournal,  fell  into  this 
mistake,  as  did  also  the  son  of  D.  D.  Home,  and  others.  The  intellectual  quality  of  a  mes- 
sage from  the  spirit  side  of  life  must  necessarily  take  more  or  less  coloring  from  the  brain 
through  which  it  is  conveyed — just  as  a  ray  from  the  sun  is  colored,  and  often  deflected,  by 
ihe  glass  through  which  it  shines. 


48  PSVCHOGRAPHY. 

Mr.  Evans,  or  by  persons  familiar  with  the  languages  written. 
As  for  its  being  the  work  of  Mr.  Evans,  no  one  who  knows  him 
believes  him  capable  of  doing  anything  of  the  kind.  He  was  a 
young  man  of  twenty-four  when  those  messages  were  written, 
evidently  unschooled  in  any  language  but  the  English,  and  only 
indifferently  well  in  that.  He  had  certainly,  while  residing  in 
San  Francisco,  never  been  heard  to  utter  a  word  in  any  language 
except  his  own. 

This  writing  implies  a  classical  education,  which  Mr.  Evans 
surely  has  not.  In  fact,  it  is  doubtful  if  there  is  a  single  indi- 
vidual in  America  who  can  write  in  the  twelve  languages  named. 
There  are  probably  many  who  can  write  in  more  languages,  but 
not  in  those  twelve.  Hence  we  are  obliged  to  dismiss  the  sup- 
position that  the  writing  was  done  by  Mr.  Evans. 

Then,  if  not  written  as  claimed,  who  could  have  done  it 
but  various  persons  in  the  community  qualified  to  write  said 
languages  ?  And  just  here  we  encounter  a  difficulty  which  all 
must  readilyappreciate.  Would  an  intelligent  German,  Spaniard, 
Italian,  Frenchman,  Norwegian,  etc.,  be  apt  to  lend  himself  to 
such  a  fraud  and  commit  actual  forgery  by  signing  another's  name 
to  a  written  message  ?  Don  Juan  Alviso,  for  instance,  a  former 
well-known  resident  of  California,  addresses  a  personal  note  to 
the  author,  with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  Would  any  sensible 
and  intelligent  Spaniard,  as  the  writer  of  that  message  evidently 
is,  be  apt  to  sign  Alviso's  name  to  a  message  of  that  kind? 

If  these  messages  were  written  by  any  persons  in  mortal 
life,  they  must  certainly  know  it;  and  they  must  now  know  that 
we  have  published  to  the  world  the  claim  that  the  writing  was 
produced  by  some  occult  power.  We  now  invite,  yea,  challenge 
them,  in  the  interest  of  truth,  to  come  forward  and  disprove  the 
claim. 

As  confirmatory  of  the  genuineness  of  the  writing  upon 
this  slate,  we  might  refer  to  a  slate,  given  in  this  connection, 
and  which  contains  fifteen  messages.     This  slate  was  written  at 


A    SLATE    OF    MANY    LANGUAGES.  49 

a  seance  given  to  the  writer  and  a  number  of  personal  friends, 
nearly  all  of  whom  were  strangers  to  Mr.  Evans.  The  slates 
were  prepared  and  sealed  by  a  committee  from  the  audience. 
They  were  wound  with  cord  and  suspended  to  the  gas  jet  in  the 
centre  of  the  room,  Mr.  Evans  never  touching  the  slates  from 
the  moment  they  were  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  committee, 
and  yet  all  but  two  persons  present  received  messages  thereon. 

There  were  present  at  this  seance  fourteen  persons  in  all, 
besides  Mr.  Evans  and  his  wife.  Six  of  those  present  were 
entire  strangers  to  the  psychic,  who  also  had  no  previous  knowl- 
edge as  to  the  proposed  attendance  of  any  members  of  the 
circle,  with  the  exception  of  the  writer  and  two  others.  There 
were  no  ballots  written,  and  care  was  taken  that  the  names  of 
the  strangers  present  should  not  be  made  known  to  Mr.  Evans. 
Therefore  no  introductions  were  had;  nevertheless,  all  present, 
except  two,  received  messages  upon  the  slate,  some  receiving 
two  and  three.  The  names  given  of  the  spirit  friends  of  the 
persons  unknown  to  Mr.  Evans  are  a  most  convincing  test  of 
spirit  power. 

The  manner  of  the  writing  was  as  follows  :  A  committee 
of  two  was  appointed  to  see  that  the  slates  were  properly 
cleaned  and  sealed.  This  was  done  first  by  thoroughly  rubbing 
the  slates  with  a  damp  cloth,  and  then,  after  placing  a  few 
minute  bits  of  pencil  between  them,  they  were  sealed  together 
with  sealing-wax  at  the  edges.  The  committee  then  tied  a  cord 
around  the  slates  and  hung  them  to  the  gas  jet  in  the  centre  of 
the  room.  In  a  few  moments  the  rapid  moving  of  the  pencil 
tips  was  distinctly  heard,  and  in  about  four  minutes  light  rapping 
announced  that  the  writing  was  completed.  The  committee 
then  removed  the  cord  and  seals,  when  the  inner  surface  of  one 
of  the  slates  was  found  written  over,  as  seen  in   the  engraving. 

Some  of  the  messages  show  carelessness  of  construction  ; 
but  no  more  so,  perhaps,  than  they  would  if  written  by  a  like 
number  of  mortals  of  average  intelligence.    The  messages  show 


[Given  through  the  me^liumship   of  Fred   Evans,  at  a  select  seance' of  personal 
friends  of  the  author.] 


A    SI-ATE    Ol'    MANV    I.ANCJUAGES.  Ol 

<listinct  styles  of  chiro.irraphy.  And  what  may  be  regarded  as  a 
significant  fact  is  that,  as  far  as  known,  the  writing  is  the  same 
in  appearance  as  that  given  by  the  same  s[)irits  through  other 
slate-writing  mediums. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  message  in  the  left  upper  corner, 
signed  "Josephine."  (The  word  closely  resembling  "Mother," 
in  the  address,  was  "Mattie,"  in  the  original,  the  name  of  the 
wife  of  the  author — evidently  a  mistake  of  the  engraver.)  Mrs. 
Owen  has  received  messages  from  her  sister  Josephine  through 
three  psychographists — one  in  New  Orleans — and  the  writing 
was  alike  in  all  instances.  Such,  also,  is  the  case  with  the  mes- 
sage in  the  right  hand  upper  corner,  purporting  to  come  from 
the  spirit  father  of  the  author. 

The  profile  sketch  in  the  lower  corner  to  the  right,  is  not 
a  bad  representation  of  a  life-size  bust  of  the  writer's  spirit 
father,  by  Anderson,  in  possession  of  the  author. 

That  the  writing  in  the  above  instance  was  produced  in 
the  precise  manner  we  have  stated,  fairly  and  without  collusion 
of  any  kind,  all  present  at  the  seance  will  affirm  to  be  true. 
One  evidence  of  its  genuineness  is  conclusive  in  this,  that  Mr. 
Evans  could  not  have  known  who  were  to  be  present,  for  that 
was  a  secret  with  the  writer ;  hence,  there  could  have  been  no 
previous  preparation  of  the  slates.  Another  is  in  the  fact  that 
he  never  touched  the  slates  after  they  had  been  prepared  by  the 
committee. 

Mr.  Evans'  powers  have  been  tested  by  thousands  of 
persons,  and  often  under  the  most  crucial  test  conditions — 
sometimes  producing  the  writing  within  riveted  slates,  and 
frequently  without  the  contact  of  hands. 

A  few  months  prior  to  producing  this  last  slate  Mr.  Evans 
was  happily  married  to  Miss  Agnes  Hance,  a  sensible,  intelli- 
gent and  handsome  young  lady,  who  now  devotes  her  attention 
mainly  to  the  cares  and  duties  of  motherhood,  while  her  hus- 
band e.\erciscs  his  wonderful  gifts. 


SPIRIT  ART. 


'HE  sketch  from  which  the  likeness  of  the  late  D.  D. 
Home  was  engraved  (as  it  appears  herewith)  was 
procured  in  the  following  manner: 
We  asked  Spirit  John  Gray — the  psychographic  control  of 
Mr.  Fred  Evans — if  he  could  not  induce  some  spirit  artist  to 
furnish  us  with  portraits  and  sketches  from  the  spirit  side  of  life 
for  publication  in  the  Golden  Gate.  With  the  same  alacrity  as  that 
with  which  he  undertook  to  procure  messages  for  us  in  various 
languages  for  our  holiday  number,  he  entered  into  our  plan. 

Owing  to  the  illness  of  Mrs.  Evans  the  date  of  our  first 
seance  had  to  be  postponed.  We  called  upon  Mr.  Evans,  in 
company  with  Mr.  John  Waterhouse,  lately  of  Minneapolis. 
Mr.  Gray  had  advised  us  not  to  sit  with  others  during  the  pro- 
cess of  these  experiments,  hence  he  was  a  little  dubious  at  first 
as  to  the  result,  but  was  soon  pleased  to  proceed  with  his  work, 
as  our  friend  was  found  to  be  a  help  rather  than  a  hindrance. 

A  single  slate,  that  we  saw  thoroughly  cleaned  upon  both 
sides  and  wiped  dry,  and  which  we  were  permitted  to  handle, 
and  knew  for  a  certainty  contained  no  writing  or  mark  of  any 
kind,  was  placed  over  a  small  bit  of  slatep  encil  on  top  of  a  table. 
We  held  our  hands  upon  this  slate  for  a  few  minutes,  when  the 
control  asked  for  a  bit  of  lead  pencil,  which  was  passed  under  the 
slate,  and  we  continued  to  sit  as  before.  In  about  ten  minutes 
raps  upon  the  table  signified  that  the  work  was  done.  Upon 
turning  over  the  slate  we  found  that  its  under  surface  had  first 
been  evenly  whitened  by  the  attrition  of  the  slate  pencil,  and  upon 
this  whitened  surface  appeared  the  likeness  in  crayon,  together 
with  the  names  at  the  bottom,  that  of  D.  D.  Home  being  a 
perfect /flc  simile  of  the  hand-writing  of  that  eminent  medium. 
Mr.  Gray  informed  us  that  the  sketch  was  made  by  a  spirit 
artist,  but  that  the  writing  was  done  by  Mr.  Home  himself. 


KIT    I).  1).  HOME. 
(Obtained  through  the  psychic  power  of  Fred  Evans  ] 


SEANCE  WITH  PROF.  A.  R.  WALLACE. 


\  I  /  HE  most  remarkable  seance  in  many  respects  for  inde- 
wlk  pendent  writing  with  Mr.  Evans,  was  one  given  in 
presence  of  that  eminent  scientist,  Professor  Alfred 
Russell  Wallace,  F.  G.  S.,  of  England,  his  brother,  Mr.  John 
Wallace,  of  Stockton,  California,  Dr.  David  Wooster,  one  of 
San  Francisco's  leading  physicians  and  a  m.ember  of  the  Acad- 
emy of  Sciences,  and  the  writer— four  persons  in  all  besides 
the  psychic,  Mr.  Evans. 

We  arranged  for  this  seance  with  Professor  Wallace,  to 
come  off  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  day  mentioned,  at 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Evans.  It  was  fully  half  past  nine  when 
we  reached  his  residence,  where  we  were  pleasantly  received 
by  Mr.  Evans,  and  conducted  to  the  seance-room,  which  was  a 
small  front  room  directly  over  the  hallway.  The  morning  sun- 
light was  streaming  in  at  the  window,  and  the  room  was  as 
light  as  noonday. 

Mr.  Evans  took  a  seat  at  a  table  with  his  back  to  the 
window.  Professor  Wallace  and  his  brother  sat  at  the  opposite 
side  of  the  table.  Dr.  Wooster  sat  behind  the  Professor,  and  the 
writer,  behind  and  a  little  to  the  right  of  Mr.  John  Wallace,  the 
object  being  to  give  the  brothers  the  fullest  possible  benefit  of 
the  seance. 

A  pair  of  medium  size  folding  school  slates,  brought  by  John 
Wallace,  who  had  never  witnessed  any  experiments  in  psychog- 
raphy  before,  was  placed  upon  the  table,  together  with  two 
pairs  of  other  slates,  and,  a  few  minutes  later,  a  single  slate,  with 
cross  lines  thereon  to  indicate  that  the  color'ed  writing  usually 
produced  in  this  experiment  is  written  over  the  cross,  was 
placed  upon  the  table.  The  slates  were  all  thoroughly  cleaned 
and  examined  by  the  brothers,  and  were,  from  first  to  last, 
directly  under  their  hands  and  sight. 


SEAXCE    WITH     I'RdK.    A.     K.    WALLACE.  55 

Without  giving  the  experiments  in  the  order  in  which  they 
were  produced,  or  even  reproducing  the  numerous  messages 
written  (as  they  were  mostly  of  a  private  or  unimportant  char- 
acter), we  will  speak  more  especially  of  the  manner  of  their 
production. 

As  we  have  frequently  described  in  this  volume,  the  mes- 
sages through  this  psychic  are  always  given  under  what  may  be 
regarded  as  absolute  test  conditions.  All  being  done  in  the 
h'ght  and  above  board,  with  the  slates  in  the  hands  of  the  inves- 
tigator, there  is  not  the  slightest  suggestion  or  possibility  of 
deception.     And  such  was  the  case  in  this  instance. 

The  influences  worked  readily,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
several  messages  were  written  in  the  ordinary  way,  to  the 
delight  of  Professor  Wallace,  who  expressed  his  admiration  of 
the  prompt  and  perfectly  fair  manner  in  which  they  were 
produced. 

The  Professor  then  inquired  of  Mr.  Evans  if  writing  could 
be  produced  upon  paper  placed  between  the  slates,  when  he  was 
requested  by  the  spirit  control  to  tear  off  six  sheets  from  a 
common  writing  pad  of  white  paper  at  hand  and  place  them 
between  a  pair  of  slates,  which  he  did.  In  a  few  minutes  we 
were  assured  by  the  psychic  that  the  forces  were  at  work  upon 
the  paper,  and  soon  it  was  found  that  upon  each  of  five  of  the 
slips  of  paper  was  a  finely  executed  crayon  sketch  of  a  promi- 
nent Spiritualist  passed  to  spirit  life,  representing  them  as  they 
appeared  in  earth-life,  viz.,  D.  D.  Home,  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush, 
Dr.  Robert  Hare,  Jonathan  Pierpont,  Mrs.  S.  F.  Breed,  and 
upon  one  slip  an  unknown  spirit  picture  not  as  well  done  as  the 
others. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  these  five  sketches  named  were 
improved  copies  of  pictures  taken  upon  the  slates  upon  former 
occasions  by  the  spirit  artist,  Stanley  St.  Clair,  through  Mr. 
Evans'  powers,  and  who  also  drew  upon  a  slate,  at  this  seance, 
the    picture  of  Father    Pierpont,    which  we  reproduce    in  this 


56  PSYCHOGRAPHV. 

connection.  (The  artist  produced  this  picture  at  our  reporters' 
seance  in  Los  Angeles,  and  it  was  retained  by  one  of  the 
reporters  present.)  And  yet  it  was  seen  that  the  crayon  sketch 
of  the  latter  was  not  an  exact  copy  of  the  slate  picture  produced 
at  this  seance.  If  it  is  of  the  former  picture  we  have  no  means 
of  knowing.  They  were  all,  with  the  exception  of  the  spirit 
picture  referred  to  above,  pronounced  by  Professor  Wallace  to 
be  artistic  and  meritorious  sketches. 

Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  test  given  at  this  seance  was 
the  writing  in  five  colors,  by  Mr.  Evans'  control,  produced  on 
the  under  side  of  the  slate  with  the  cross,  the  writing  appearing 
over  the  white  lines.  The  colors  used  by  the  spirit  in  this 
experiment  are  remarkably  brilliant.  In  fact  it  is  the  best 
sample  of  colored  writing  we  have  yet  seen  through  this 
psychic.      The  message  reads  as  follows  : 

Dear  Friends: — I  am  pleased  to  meet  you  all  here,  and  to  you.  Pro- 
fessor Wallace,  I  must  express  my  deep  admiration  for  the  noble  stand  you 
have  taken  in  bravely  advocating  that  which  you  believe  to  be  true,  namely, 
the  truth  of  spirit  return.  Alas!  too  many  are  bound  down  to  accept  that 
which  they  do  not  believe  in,  merely  because  it  is  not  fashionable  to  doubt  it. 
I  mean  orthodoxy.  But  the  time  is  fast  approaching  when  all  will  only  be  too 
glad  to  embrace  a  belief  in  Spiritualism.  I  must  leave  you  now  with  the  glad 
thought  that  I  will  one  day  welcome  you  all  to  the  spirit  side  of  life. 

Spirit  guide,  John  Gray. 

Another  most  remarkable  experiment  was  given  as  follows  : 
Mr.  Evans  placed  a  sheet  of  white  paper  over  a  slate  lying 
upon  the  table,  upon  which  slate  it  was  seen  there  was  no 
writing.  He  raised  the  slate  level,  touching  his  forehead  with 
the  edge,  when  in  less  than  half  a  minute  there  was  found  upon 
the  upper  surface  a  finely  written  and  beautiful  message  of  one 
hundred  and  forty-seven  words,  signed  "  Elizabeth  Wallace," 
the  name  of  a  sister  of  Professor  Wallace.  This  message  must 
have  been  almost  instantaneously  stamped  upon  the  slate,  and 
yet  the  writing  is,  to  all  appearances,  the  result  of  the  attrition 
of  a  slate  pencil  over  the  surface  of  the  slate. 


SEANCE    WITH    I'ROl-.  A.   R.   WALLACE.  57 

The  last,  and,  to  the  scientist,  perhaps  the  most  satisfactory 
experiment  of  the  seance,  was  the  production  of  writing  on  the 
two  inner  surfaces  of  the  folding  slates  brought  by  Mr.  John 
Wallace.  Upon  one  surface  was  a  message  by  Spirit  John 
Gray,  and  upon  the  other  a  message  signed  "T.  V.  Wallace," 
the  name  of  the  father  of  Professor  Wallace.  This  writing  was 
absolutely  conclusive  of  the  existence  of  an  independent  occult 
intelligent  power  capable  of  performing  such  wonders. 

We  will  add,  in  conclusion,  that  a  slate  placed  upon  the 
floor  contained  four  short  messages  to  the  author — one  from 
John  Gray,  the  others  from  three  spirit  friends,  and  m  2.  fac 
simile  of  their  familiar  chirography.  The  number  of  slates 
written  over,  including  the  one  with  the  picture,  was  eight,  con- 
taining in  all  thirteen  written  messages,  which,  with  the  slate 
picture  and  six  crayon  sketches,  we  consider  the  most  remark- 
able result  ever  obtained  at  a  single  seance  with  any  slate- 
writing  psychic.  The  duration  of  the  seance  was  less  than 
one  hour. 

The  above  appears  to  me  to  be  a  correct  account  of  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  and  convincing  seances  I  have  ever  attended.  I  have  never,  on 
any  occasion,  witnessed  phenomena  of  so  wonderful  a  character  appear  with 
such  rapidity  and  in  a  manner  so  entirely  free  from  suspicion. 

Alfred  R.  Wallace. 

I  agree  with  the  above  remarks  of  my  brother. 

John  Wallace. 

I  entirely  agree  with  Professor  Wallace  in  his  estimate  of  the  phenomena 
and  the  perfect  freedom  from  any  suspicion  of  fraud  in  their  production. 

D.    WOOSTER. 

We  will  add  to  this  chapter  some  very  interesting  experi- 
ments of  our  own  with  Mr.  Evans.  We  may  say  that  such 
perfect  harmony  of  conditions  has  been  established  between  us 
that  the  intelligences  manifest  themselves  with  a  readiness  and 
power  that  is  ever  a  source  of  surprise,  even  to  us  who  have 
witnessed  so  many  exhibitic^ns  of  spirit  power. 

On  one  evening  with   Mr.  Evans,  the  writer  and  his  wife 


fTaktn  independenlly    lietwccii   cUiseJ    slates,  through  the    mediumship  of  Fred    Evans 
private  seance  given  to  Professor  Alfred  R.  Wallace,  May  27,  1S87.] 


SEANCE    WITH    I'ROK.  A.  K.  WALLACE.  59 

each  took  a  couple  of  slates  which  we  knew  were  perfectly 
clean.  We  tied  them  together  in  pairs,  writing  our  names  on 
the  outside  of  each  slate. 

We  then  left  the  light  and  entered  the  dark  cabinet  with 
Mr.  Evans,  taking  the  slates  with  us  and  never  for  a  moment 
allowing  them  to  leave  our  hands.  In  the  cabinet  Mr.  Evans 
sat  in  front  of  us,  with  his  right  hand  resting  upon  the  left  hand 
of  one  of  us,  and  his  left  upon  the  right  hand  of  the  other. 

The  light  was  extinguished,  when  immediately  loud  raps 
upon  the  floor,  the  chairs  and  the  slates,  announced  the  presence 
of  the  invisibles.  Soon  a  small,  luminous  cloud  formed  near 
the  side  of  the  psychic,  which  took  the  shape  of  a  beautiful 
human  hand,  which  floated  down,  first  over  one  of  the  pair  of 
slates,  and  then  over  the  other,  and  seemed  to  be  writing  upon 
the  upper  surface  of  the  slates.  Detaching  one  hand  from  the 
slates  we  were  holding,  we  were  permitted  to  take  this  lumin- 
ous hand  in  our  own.  We  found  it  cold  and  firm — very  like 
the  hand  of  a  living  person  just  out  of  the  cold. 

Another  interesting  phase  of  this  seance  was  the  material- 
ization and  illumination  of  a  slate  which  was  held  before  us  with 
the  name  of  the  guide,  John  Gray,  written  thereon  in  large, 
luminous  letters.  A  small  piece  of  pencil  was  also  illumin- 
ated and  caused  to  write  rapidly  over  the  surface  of  a  slate. 
The  scratching  of  the  pencil  was  loud  and  distinct,  and  its 
rapid  movement  over  the  slate  was  witnessed  by  all  with  deep 
interest. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  throughout  these  experi- 
ments, the  slates  prepared  by  us  were  held  in  our  own  hands, 
and  that  the  psychic's  hands  never  left  ours  except  to  enable  us 
for  a  moment  to  take  the  spirit  hand  before  him.  He  was  not 
entranced,  and  enjoyed  the  seance  quite  as  much  as  did  we. 

Upon  entering  the  light  we  found  no  writing  upon  the 
outer  surfaces  of  the  slates,  except  that  of  the  names  we  had 
placed  there;  but  on  the  inner  surface  of  one  of  the  slates  was 


CO  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

a  message  from  John  Gray,  in  common  slate  pencil  writing, 
and  on  one  of  the  inner  surfaces  of  the  other  pair  of  slates 
were  thirty-three  shades  of  colors,  put  on  as  with  a  fine  brush, 
in  lines  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  length;  and  then,  stretching 
lengthwise  across  the  slate,  was  a  belt  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
width  made  by  an  interblending  of  all  these  shades.  Some  of 
these  shades  are  exquisitely  delicate  and  beautiful,  and  the 
coloring  matter  lies  in  small  ridges  upon  the  slate.  Below  the 
colors  was  written  in  pencil:  "  Mr.  Owen — Dear  Friend — We 
have  given  you  this  to  show  you  how  easily  we  can  produce  all 
colors  when  necessary. — John  Gray." 


-Jt->^^J^^ 


THROUGH   SOUTHERN    CALIFORNIA. 


IN  the  spring  of  1887,  Fred  Evans  made  a  professional  tour 
to  the  principal   towns  of  Southern    California.      He  was 

accompanied  by  his  wife  and  the  author — the  latter  acting 
as  a  sort  of  business  manager,  or  major-domo.  The  trip 
throughout  was  one  grand  in  its  consequences  as  an  educator 
of  the  people  in  the  mysteries  of  psychic  science.  Of  the  trip 
down  we  wrote  as  follows  to  the  Golden  Gate: 

''  It  is  indeed  grand  to  live  in  such  an  age  as  this— an  age  of 
wonderful  things — of  the  triumphs  of  steam,  of  electricity,  of 
spiritual  and  intellectual  unfoldment.  How  unlike  the  dreamy 
past  in  everything  save  in  the  operation  and  workings  of 
Nature's  unchanging  laws.  Had  some  fairy  said  to  us  in  the 
long  ago,  when  early  manhood,  with  its  rose-tinted  hopes  and 
eager  ambitions,  first  dawned  upon  our  life,  and  our  dreams  of 
the  future  were  bright  and  golden  with  the  glory  of  being,  '  My 
son,  the  evening  of  thy  days  and  of  a  busy  life  will  be  spent  in 
a  land  by  a  far-away  sea,  devoted  to  the  spread  of  a  religious 
philosophy  that  shall  have  for  its  basis  the  positive  proof  of  the 
existence  of  the  spirit  of  man  as  a  conscious  entity  beyond  the 
gateway  of  death,'— had  some  fairy  or  prophet  said  this  to  us, 
it  would  have  seemed  a  monumental  fiction.  So,  too,  it  would 
have  seemed  to  the  bright  young  sailor  boy  of  a  half  dozen 
years  ago,  had  some  priestess  of  the  future  predicted  that  ere- 
long there  would  come  to  him  a  gift,  upon  the  marvelous 
demonstrations  of  which  the  world  would  look  and  wonder. 
How  truly  we  can  say — 

'  God  moves  in  a  mysterious  way 
His  wonders  to  perform.' 

"  A  trip  by  sea  from  San  Francisco  to  San  Diego  has  been 


62  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

too  often  told,  and  is  really  of  too  humdrum  a  character  to  be 
interesting.  It  is,  perhaps,  enough  to  say  that  the  steamers  are 
the  best  of  their  kind,  with  all  the  modern  conveniences;  the 
officers  are  polite  and  efficient;  the  tables  are  excellent,  and,  to 
the  lasting  credit  of  the  managers,  be  it  said,  there  is  no  bar  on 
board — that  abominable  nursing  school  of  drunkenness  and 
vice!  Not  that  wines  and  liquors  may  not  be  had  upon  appli- 
cation to  the  steward,  but  they  are  not  set  constantly  before  one 
as  a  temptation  to  the  young  and  idle.  We  have  noticed  that 
it  is  usually  the  old  toper,  or  the  moderate  drinker  on  the  down 
grade,  that  ever  orders  his  poison  by  the  bottle 

"Drifting  out  upon  the  ocean, though  but  for  a  brief  journey — 
away  from  the  tear-dimmed  eyes  of  those  one  loves — away  from 
familiar  faces  and  scenes — out  upon  the  rolling  waste  of  waters — 
a  plaything  of  the  waves — it  is  so  unlike  a  journey  one  takes  by 
land  that  there  is  always  a  touch  of  sadness  in  it  for  me.  It  is 
so  typical  of  the  journey  we  must  all  take,  sooner  or  later,  over 
the  dark  waters  whose  billows  break  forever  on  the  silent  shores 
of  Death.  And  yet  I  enjoy  a  voyage  by  sea  as  I  never  do  a 
journey  by  land.  I  love  to  be  rocked  to  sleep  upon  its  mighty 
bosom.  One  can  get  nearer  to  the  Infinite  Heart  upon  the  ocean 
than  upon  the  land,  for  it  is  there  one  must  necessarily  feel  more 
dependent  upon  the  sustaining  arm  of  the  Infinite  One. 

"We  left  San  Francisco  at  two  p.m.,  Sunday,  April  3d  (Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Fred  Evans  and  the  writer),  stopping  a  brief  while  the 
following  morning  at  Port  Harford,  and  by  two  p.  m.  of  the  same 
day  we  were  at  beautiful  Santa  Barbara,  where  we  tarried  for 
six  hours.  Here  we  were  met  by  a  committee  of  the  saints, 
and  a  carriage  placed  at  our  disposal  for  a  ride  about  the  city. 
Mrs.  Evans  was  presented  with  a  basket  of  elegant  flowers,  and 
our  stay  in  the  city  was  made  most  delightful.  To  those  stanch 
and  true  standard-bearers  of  the  gospel  of  Spiritualism,  Brothers 
Maxwell,  Barber,  and  Morris,  and  also  to  Mrs.  Morris,  we  owe 
our  heartfelt  gratitude  for  a  brief  season  of  delight.     We  drove 


THROLKill    SOUrilKKN    CAI.II-OKN  lA.  63 

out  to  the  old  Mission  Church,  and  out  and  in  among  the  pretty 
villas  of  the  town.  The  boom  of  improvement  was  here,  as 
everywhere  else  along  the  Southern  Pacific  Coast,  and  the 
sound  of  the  hammer  and  the  saw  makes  rich  melody  in  the  ears 
of  the  festive  land-owner  who  has  lots  to  sell. 

"Another  long  stop  at  San  Pedro,  and  a  few  hours  later  we 
are  at  San  Diego,  where  lots  are  selling  for  $40,000,  more  or 
less,  with  the  climate  and  bay  thrown  in  !  Five  years  have 
elapsed  since  my  last  visit  to  this  city,  and  behold  the  change! 
The  city  has  more  than  doubled  in  population  during  that 
period,  and  is  at  present  extending  in  all  directions.  Magnifi- 
cent business  blocks  and  elegant  private  residences  are  spring- 
ing up  on  every  side,  and  that  good  time  coming,  of  which  the 
ancient  San  Diegan  so  fondly  dreamed,  seems  at  last  to  be  here. 
Well,  we  rejoice  in  her  prosperity.  After  all,  what  can  there 
be  attractive  about  a  home  or  a  country  where  life  is  made  a 
constant  agony  between  summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold,  or 
where  the  gaunt  specters  of  Fever  and  Pestilence  brood  over 
the  land  ^ 

"  In  the  face  of  the  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  defiant  skep- 
ticism prevailing  everywhere  concerning  our  facts,  it  is  no  light 
undertaking  to  go  before  the  public  and  attempt  to  prove  the 
truths  of  Spiritualism.  We  know  of  no  psychic  in  the  world 
to-day  who  can  face  this  skepticism  so  grandly  as  can  Mr.  Fred 
Evans,  and  demonstrate  the  slate-writing  phase  of  the  spiritual 
phenomena. 

"  Upon  the  evening  following  our  arrival  here,  twelve  repre- 
sentatives of  the  press  met  at  our  rooms  and  were  given  a 
private  test  seance  by  Mr.  Evans.  Eleven  of  the  number 
present  received  messages  from  their  spirit  friends  within  slates 
prepared,  sealed,  and  held  in  their  own  hands.  While  seated 
around  the  table  Mr.  Evans  placed  a  cross  upon  the  surface  of 
a  slate  that  all  saw  had  first  been  thoroughly  cleaned,  and  then, 
under  their  own  eyes  and  hands,  a  message  was  w-ritten  thereon 


64  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

in  four  colors,  the  writing  showing  plainly  where  it  crossed  the 
white  lines  that  it  was  written  over  the  cross.  Other  equally 
astonishing  evidences  of  spirit  power  were  given,  and  all 
declared,  through  their  respective  daily  journals — the  Union, 
Sun,  San  Diegan,  and  Bee — that  they  could  detect  no  deception. 

''Our  first  public  meeting  was  given  at  Leach's  Opera  House, 
and  notwithstanding  a  heavy  rain-storm  prevailed  there  was  a 
goodly  attendance.  Three  slates  full  of  messages  were  obtained, 
and  one  slate  with  a  fine  likeness  of  Dr.  Rush.  Upon  the 
latter  slate  also  appeared  eight  messages  to  members  of  the 
audience.  There  were  fifty-four  messages  in  all,  from  a  single 
name  up  to  a  message  of  fifty  and  sixty  words. 

"  One  of  the  gentlemen  upon  the  committee  chosen  by  the 
audience — a  Mr.  Welden — stated  that  he  had  been  before  the 
public  as  a  performer  of  legerdemain,  and  that  if  it  was  a  trick 
he  had  witnessed  it  was  the  finest  '  upon  the  boards  '  to-day. 
He  showed  to  the  audience  how  he  and  others  of  his 
profession  produced  what  they  called  spirit  writing,  and  declared 
that  Mr.  Evans'  writing  was  done  in  no  such  way,  and  he  was 
unable  to  tell  how  it  was  done  ! 

"  The  pair  of  slates  first  sealed  and  held  longest  by  the  com- 
mittee contained  no  writing,  a  circumstance  which  another 
member  of  the  committee  could  not  understand.  Neither  do 
we,  although  we  might  present  a  theory  therefor  which  all 
enlightened  Spiritualists  would  understand.  Time  was  required 
to  harmonize  the  conditions  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  writing. 
The  positive  conditions  surrounding  the  first  slate  made  it 
easier  for  the  spirits  to  write  upon  the  slates  that  were  prepared 
and  sealed  a  few  minutes  later,  perhaps. 

"  It  is  not  a  question  of  the  ability  of  the  spirits  to  overcome 
all  hostile  elements  or  magnetism;  but  rather,  can  they  produce 
writing  under  any  conditions  ?  If  committees  will  be  reasonably 
passive  and  receptive  to  the  truth,  Mr.  Evans'  psychographic 
control,  John  Gray,  will  give  them  all  the  evidence  they  need. 


THROUGH    SOUTHERN    CAI,n"ORNlA.  65 

"At  the  second  meeting  Mr.  Welden,  the  gentleman  men- 
tioned herein  (who  is  a  fair  and  honest  skeptic,  by  the  way), 
brought  with  him  his  own  slates,  declaring  that  if  he  could  get  the 
writing  thereon,  he  would  publish  it  in  all  the  daily  papers  of  San 
Diego.  Mr.  Evans  invited  him  to  call  at  his  rooms  at  ten  a.  m.  on 
the  following  day  and  bring  his  slates,  and  he  would  see  what  his 
guides  could  do  for  him.  He  came  at  the  appointed  time,  and 
received  a  message  within  his  slates  from  a  loved  sister,  written 
in  her  own  hand.  At  the  meeting  of  the  First  Spiritualists' 
Society,  of  San  Diego,  on  Sunday  morning  following,  Mr. 
Welden  was  present,  and  made  a  public  statement  of  the  fact. 
He  also  caused  the  same  to  appear  in  the  daily  papers.  Mr. 
Welden  is  a  prominent  contractor  and  builder  there;  he  is  a 
gentleman  of  culture,  and  well  known  as  a  thoroughly  honest 
and  upright  man. 

"  In  our  work  in  San  Diego  we  obtained  some  rich  e.xperi- 
ences  which  will  prove  valuable  to  us  hereafter.  We  found 
there,  as  we  do  everywhere  else,  that  the  claim  of  a  spiritual 
source  for  the  intelligible  messages  received  upon  the  slates, 
arouses  the  bitter  hostility  of  all  those  who  would  have  it  other- 
wise. The  arrogant,  opinionated  skeptic,  who  cannot  by  any 
means  discover  the  trick  (as  he  considers  it),  finds  his  sagacity 
overmatched.  He  is  humiliated  in  his  conceit  and  pride  of 
superior  knowledge,  and  it  makes  him  angry.  The  ignorant 
and  thoughtless  readily  fall  in  with  their  intellectual  (not  moral 
or  spiritual)  betters,  and  are  ready  to  create  disturbance  when 
admitted  to  our  seances. 

"  At  our  second  meeting  there  was  quite  an  attendance  of 
the  rougher  elements,  who  evidently  came  for  a  disturbance.  It 
was  half  an  hour  before  order  could  be  restored.  An  excellent 
committee,  consisting  of  Dr.  Goss,  Mr.  Gilman,  and  Mrs. 
Bellamy,  was  finally  secured,  and,  notwithstanding  the  nervous 
condition  of  the  psychic,  consequent  upon  the  inharmony 
aroused  at  the  outset,  the  influences  worked  readily  and  almost 


66  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

immediately.  Six  slates  were  obtained,  containing  some  fifty 
messages,  including  a  fine  picture  by  Spirit  St.  Clair,  and 
interesting  experiments  by  the  psychic's  guide.  Spirit  John 
Gray,  and  also  by  the  spirit  of  Professor  Norton,  who  is  deeply 
interested  in  our  work.  The  latter  comes  to  us  frequently,  his 
messages  being  invariably  a  fac  simile  of  his  well-known 
chirography.  As  when  on  earth  his  messages  are  models  of 
English  composition.  He  produced  the  writing,  in  the  above 
instance,  upon  a  wet  slate  just  taken  from  a  bucket  of  water, 
and  which  had  to  be  dried  before  the  message  could  be  read. 
Upon  a  close  examination  the  writing  was  found  to  be  produced 
by  the  attrition  of  a  slate  pencil  upon  the  surface  of  the  slate. 
John  Gray  produced  writing  in  colors  over  a  white  pencil  cross 
upon  a  slate  prepared,  sealed,  and  held  by  the  committee. 
Indeed,  the  manifestations  were  most  astonishing,  far  exceeding 
those  obtained  at  our  first  public  meeting  in  San  jose. 

"As  we  were  advertised  for  only  two  public  meetings  here, 
under  the  instruction  of  the  guide,  the  remainder  of  our  stay  was 
devoted  to  private  seances.  And  at  these  seances  some  of  the 
medium's  best  work  has  been  done.  The  sitters,  in  nearly  all 
cases,  brought  their  own  slates  with  them,  and  never  failed  to  find 
them  written  full.  In  several  instances  the  bottom  and  two  inner 
surfaces  of  the  slates  would  be  found  written  over,  and  all  with- 
out the  contact  of  mortal  hands.  It  should  be  remembered 
that  Mr.  Evans  never  removes  the  slates  for  a  moment  from  the 
sight  of  the  sitter.  When  not  under  the  sitter's  hands,  or 
lying  upon  the  table,  they  will  be  placed  upon  the  floor  or 
mantel,  but  always  in  plain  sight.  The  writing  comes  with 
wonderful  power  and  directness." 

Speaking  of  the  seance  given  to  the  San  Diego  reporters, 
the  Union  of  that  city  said  : 

Whatever  may  be  believed  of  the  cause  of  these  manifestations  of  power 
of  some  kind,  they  were  certainly  wonderful.  The  utmost  alertness  was 
unavailing  to  detect   any   trickery.      Mr.    Evans    even  made    crosses  on   the 


Sl'IRIT   PICTURE. 

[Taken   through  the  mediumship  of  Fred  Evans,  before  a  public  audience  in  San  Diego,  and 

under  the  supervision  of  a  committee  chosen  by  the  audience.] 


68  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

slates,  and  these  were  found  to  be  written  over  instead  of  under,  as  would 
have  been  the  case  had  there  been  chemicals  or  invisible  writing  upon  the 
slates.  An  unusually  sharp  lot  of  eyes  watched  proceedings,  and  found  no 
cause  of  complaint.  It  is  certainly  worth  seeing,  to  say  the  least. 
The  San  Diego  Daily  Bee  also  had  the  following : 
At  a  seance  given  by  Mr.  Fred  Evans  last  evening  for  members  of  the 
press  of  San  Diego,  the  following  message,  written  in  four  colors — red,  blue, 
yellow  and  white— was  received  by  C.  Y.  Benjamin,  business  manager  of 
The  Bee,  and  one  of  its  two  proprietors: 

I  give  you  these  few  lines  as  a  test  of  spirit  power,  and  I  wish  to  assure  you  that  your 
present  undertaking  will  prove  a  success,  for  it  will  lead  you  to  better  things.  Wishing  to  add 
another  item  to  this  truth  of  spirit  return,  I  remain  yours  in  spirit,  J.  Benjamin. 

The  slate  upon  which  this  message  appeared  was  thoroughly  cleansed 
with  a  dampened  sponge  and  then  rubbed  dry  with  a  cloth.  The  medium 
then  took  a  pencil  and  made  two  large  and  distinct  marks  on  each  side  of  the 
slate  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  and  stated  that  the  message,  if  one  appeared, 
would  be  written  in  four  different  colors  and  over  the  marks  in  white  made  by 
the  slate  pencil.  Placing  a  small  bit  of  pencil  upon  the  table,  the  slate  was 
laid  over  it.  A  moment  afterwards  the  slate  was  picked  up  by  Mr.  Evans  and 
the  above  communication  disclosed. 

Messages  were  also  produced  upon  the  inner  surfaces  of  two  sealed 
slates,  laid  upon  the  table,  under  the  watchful  eyes  of  all  present,  no  hands 
touching  them  e.xcept  those  of  the  five  gentlemen  of  the  press,  selected  to  see 
that  no  juggling  or  sleight-of-hand  tricks  were  indulged  in .  The  Bee  repre- 
sentative had  a  back  seat,  and  so  cannot  be  accused  of  putting  up  a  job  on 
his  less  fortunate  brethren  of  the  quill.  Upon  another  slate,  cast  upon  the 
floor  some  distance  from  the  medium,  ten  messages  were  quickly  produced  by 
some  mysterious  agency,  and  when  read  to  the  assembled  gatherers  of  news, 
each  one  was  found  to  have  received  a  brief  communication.  Another  slate 
was  filled  with  a  communication,  signed  by  H.  B.  Norton,  late  principal  of 
the  State  Normal  School,  at  San  Jose.  Another  slate,  placed  upon  the  man- 
tel and  out  of  the  reach  of  Mr.  Evans,  was  also  filled  with  writing. 

The  San  Diego  Sun,  of  April  7,  1887,  published  the  fol- 
lowing : 

REMARKABLE   PERFORMANCE  AT  A  TEST   SEANCE  LAST 
EVENING. 

A  private  test  seance  was  given  last  evening  by  Fred  Evans,  the  slate- 
writing  medium,  at  which  representatives  of  the  press  were  present  by  special 


THUOUGH    SOUTHERN    CALIIOKNIA.  69 

invitation.  Many  mysteries  mankind  may  never  solve,  or  at  least  be  able  to 
satisfactorily  explain,  and  the  performance  of  Mr.  Evans  last  evening  may 
fairly  be  classed  among  them.  The  slates  used  were  thoroughly  wiped  dry, 
and  placed  in  various  parts  of  the  room.  Four  slates  were  sealed  together  in 
pairs  and  placed  upon  a  table  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  and  given  in  charge 
of  five  newspaper  men.  The  following  messages  were  written  upon  the 
slates.         ****** 

Those  present  at  the  seance  were  Messrs.  Rogers  and  Hildreth,  of  the 
Union;  Messrs.  Bacon  and  Julian,  of  the  San  Diegan;  Colonel  N.  L.  Vestal 
and  E.  N.  Sullivan,  of  the  Siai;  Harr  Wagner  and  wife,  of  the  Golden  Era; 
J.  J.  Owen,  Mrs.  Clara  S.  Foltz,  Mr.  Clinkscales  and  C.  Y.  Benjamin. 
Whatever  trickery  there  may  have  been  it  was  not  evident — no  one  present 
could  detect  it.  Mr.  Evans  will  give  a  public  seance  at  Leach's  Opera  House 
this  evening,  when  his  psychographic  control  (spirit  of  John  Gray)  will  under- 
take to  produce  messages  from  the  spirits  of  departed  friends,  between  sealed 
slates  prepared  by  a  committee  chosen  from  the  audience. 


FRED  EVANS  AT  LOS  ANGELES^ 


WE  reached  the  City  of  the  Angels  in  the  midst  of  a 
drenching  rain.  Not  only  the  windows,  but  the  doors 
and  skylights  of  heaven  seemed  open,  so  great  was 
the  downpour.  But  we  could  rejoice  with  all  Southern  Cali- 
fornia in  the  aqueous  blessing,  for  it  meant  a  bountiful  harvest 
in  the  coming  days. 

Los  Angeles,  we  doubt  not,  was  at  that  time  the  liveliest 
city  of  its  size  on  the  continent.  From  a  population  of 
10,000  a  decade  before,  it  then  numbered  50,000,  and  was 
increasing  at  a  rapid  rate.  Eastern  capital  was  flowing  in  there 
a  steady  stream.  Fine  business  blocks  and  beautiful  homes 
were  springing  up  in  all  directions,  as  by  the  touch  of  the 
magician's  wand.  And  what  mightier  magician  is  there,  in  the 
temporal  affairs  of  life,  than  money  ?  It  can  move  mountains 
into  the  sea,  and  make  an  earthly  paradise  of  a  desert  waste. 
But  this  Los  Angeles  country  was  never  such  a  waste.  Here 
and  round  about  is  some  of  the  finest  land  in  the  world — a  soil 
as  rich  as  that  of  the  Valley  of  the  Nile,  and  a  climate  as  soft 
and  genial  as  that  of  the  Grecian  Isles.  This  is,  indeed,  a  land 
of  sunshine  and  flowers — a  land  where  the  olive  and  the  vine, 
the  orange  and  the  fig,  flourish  in  perfection,  and  where  human 
life  can  find  more  natural  enjoyments  than  in  any  other  spot  of 
earth  under  the  twinkling  stars.  This  stupendous  fact  the 
Eastern  world  is  beginning  to  appreciate. 

Spiritualism,  in  Los  Angeles,  was  just  then  at  a  low  ebb. 
There  was  no  organized  society  of  Spiritualists  there,  and  no 
regular  meetings  were  held.  An  occasional  speaker  entered  the 
field  as  a  sort  of  free  lance,  but  unless  of  commanding  ability 
there  was  apt  to  be  a  ''beggarly  array  of  empty  seats."     This 


FRED  EVANS  AT  LOS  ANGELES.  71 

was  from  no  lack  of  spiritual  elements,  for  the  believers  in  our 
philosophy  there  were  numerous.  It  is  the  old  story  of  inhar- 
mony,  caused  mainly  by  disagreements  in  matters  of  phenom- 
ena. There  is  enough  upon  which  Spiritualists  can  agree,  it 
would  seem,  to  enable  them  to  maintain  an  effective  organiza- 
tion, in  any  community  with  one-fourth  the  population  of  Los 
Angeles. 

The  Unitarian  minister  there,  Dr.  Fay,  was  such  an  able 
expounder  of  spiritualistic  teachings,  in  all  except  the  evidence 
of  a  future  life,  and  was  such  a  grand  soul  withal,  that  many 
Spiritualists  u-ere  pleased  to  attend  upon  his  ministrations.  And 
we  cannot  blame  them,  for  he  preached  the  true  gospel  of 
humanity  and  brotherly  love.  While  listening  to  him  on 
Sunday  morning  (he  speaks  at  the  Grand  Opera  House  to 
immense  audiences),  we  could  not  help  thinking  that  if  the 
good  brother  could  only  give  his  hearers  something  more 
tangible  than  a  barren  hope  of  a  future  life — if  he  could  assure 
them  of  a  verity  that  death  is  but  the  gateway  to  another  and 
better  world — to  a  life  of  unending  progression  upon  another 
stage  of  existence — if  he  could  bear  to  them  the  gospel  of  this 
glorious  truth,  how  the  hungry  hearts  of  many  of  his  hearers 
would  rejoice. 

Man  wants  the  positive  proof  of  another  life.  The  Chris- 
tian world  believes  in  it  through  faith,  but  faith  will  not  answer 
satisfactorily  the  question,  ''  Whither,  oh,  whither  has  my 
beloved  gone  ?"  The  grief-stricken  mother,  who  lays  the  form 
of  the  darling  babe,  that  death  has  plucked  from  her  bosom, 
away  in  the  cold  grave,  is  not  content  with  the  blind  and  unde- 
monstrated  assurance  that  it  will  be  tenderly  cared  for  in  some 
far  off  heaven.  She  must  knoio  that  it  has  found  a  shelter  in 
the  loving  heart  and  home  of  some  ministering  angel — some 
mother  spirit  in  the  Summer  Land. 

But  then  there  is  so  much  aversion  in  many  minds  to 
everything  savoring  of  Spiritualism — they  are  so  afraid  of  the 


72  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

name — that  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  Brother  Fay  was  doing 
more  good  than  he  could  do  as  an  avowed  Spiritualist.  He 
was  certainly  reaching  a  class  that  he  could  not  reach  as  a 
minister  of  the  gospel  of  Spiritualism;  and  his  followers  were 
being  led  into  the  spiritual  fold  without  knowing  it. 

Our  first  seance  there,  given  to  the  reporters  of  the  daily 
press,  was,  as  usual,  a  grand  success.  The  leading  dailies  were 
all  represented,  and  the  reporters  expressed  themselves  as  thor- 
oughly mystified.  Unlike  our  first  reporters'  seance,  held  in 
San  Jose,  the  writing  commenced  almost  immediately  after  the 
slates  were  cleaned  and  sealed,  and  the  manifestations  were  of 
a  most  satisfactory  character.  The  crucial  test  of  writing  in 
colors  over  the  lines,  an  oblique  cross  drawn  upon  a  slate  with  a 
slate  pencil,  was  given  by  Spirit  John  Gray;  and  Spirit  Stanley 
St.  Clair  produced  a  fine  crayon  likeness  of  Father  Pierpont; 
all  of  which  was  done  upon  slates  in  the  hands  and  under  the 
sharp  eyes  of  the  reporters. 

Concerning  this  seance  we  copy  the  following,  entitled 
"Odic  Forces,"  from  the  Los  Angeles  Herald,  whose  reporter 
was  present : 

Representatives  of  the  press  were  last  night  invited  to  attend  a  seance, 
or  display  of  odic  forces,  by  Mr.  Fred  Evans,  a  most  remarkable  medium, 
about  twenty-four  years  of  age.  Mr.  Evans  is  of  Welsh  descent,  and  for  a 
few  years  was  a  sailor  before  the  mast,  from  which  position  he  rose  to  that  of 
quartermaster.  A  little  over  two  years  ago  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  Mr. 
J.  J.  Owen,  formerly  the  iconoclastic  editor  of  the  San  Jose  Mercury,  in 
Santa  Clara  County,  who  became  deeply  interested  in  the  remarkable  medium, 
and  accompanies  him  in  his  travels  and  e.xhibitions. 

By  request  of  Mr.  Owen,  Mr.  Kemp,  of  the  Evenitig  Express,  Mr. 
Madrill,  of  the  Daily  Tribune,  and  a  representative  of  the  Daily  Herald 
attended  the  seance  last  night  at  the  rooms  of  Mr.  Fred  Evans,  on  the  corner 
of  South  Main  and  Fourth  Streets.  Mr.  Evans  is  a  very  pleasant  gentleman 
of  graceful  manners,  slight  physique,  and  a  powerful  medium  of  the  unseen 
forces  that  act  with  terrible  energy  on  the  human  mind.  The  representatives 
of  the  press  saw  all  the  movements  of  a  mechanical  nature,  but  not  the  move- 
ment of  the  hand  that  wrote  the  communications  and  made  the  artistic  repre- 
sentations. 


FRED    EVANS    AT    I.OS    ANGELES.  73 

A  slate,  clean  and  free  from  all  marks  except  an  X  that  extended  across 
it,  made  with  a  common  slate  pencil,  was  laid  on  the  table  and  sealed  to 
another  clean  slate,  with  a  small  piece  of  white  pencil  laid  between  them.  The 
three  representatives  of  the  press  laid  their  hands  upon  them  for  a  few  minutes, 
when,  upon  opening  them,  by  breaking  the  seal,  the  following  sentiments  were 
written,  in  ten  different  colors,  over  the  cross  lines,  each  line  containing  only 
one  color: 

To  THE  Gentlemkn  OF  THE  Los  ANGELES  PRESS— Z?<r<ir  Friends: — I  am  pleased  to 
meet  all  here  this  evening  to  witness  this  phenomenon.  I  know  that  many  of  you  would  like  to 
bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  spirit  return;  but,  also,  too  many  are  afraid  that  their  belief  would  be 
ridiculed  and  scoffed  at  by  their  many  friends.  All  that  I  ask  is  a  fair  report  of  their  test  of 
spirit  power,  for  by  so  doing  it  will  encourage  us  to  give  you  more  proofs  in  the  near  future  of 
your  spirit  friends.     This  from  the  medium's  guide.     Good-night.  John  Gray. 

The  spirit  of  Stanley  St.  Clair  was  asked  to  make  a  picture,  and 
produced  a  good  likeness  of  John  Pierpont,  the  poet,  while  the  slate  was 
firmly  held  by  the  three  representatives. 

About  the  portrait  of  John  Pierpont  was  written  the  following: 

Dear  Friends  of  Los  .\ngeles: — You  who  have  it  in  your  power  to  spread  this 
knowledge  of  spiritual  nature,  I  have  drawn  this  spirit  picture  of  John  Pierpont  for  your  benefit, 
and  on  representation  of  the  press,  and  if  you  will  speak  of  it  as  you  see  it  you  will  amply  repay 
yours  in  spirit,  artist,  .Stanley  St.  Clair. 

The  spirits  also  sent,  through  the  medium,  the  following  communications 
of  a  personal  nature: 

Tell  Joe  that  Dan  Lynch  is  here  in  spirit  and  will  write  him  more  soon. 

My  Dear  James: — I  am  glad  to  see  you  here  investigating  the  grand  truth.  Tell  all 
the  dear  ones  that  I  am  happy.  Mary  Avers. 

To  James  J.  Ayers: — God  bless  you.  It  is  with  feelings  of  happiness  and  joy  that  I 
come  back  to  write  these  few  lines  to  you.  I  know  you  often  doubt  the  possibility  of  spirit  return, 
but  I  will  soon  prove  it  to  you  beyond  a  doubt.  You  know  there  is  much  in  this  belief  to  make 
your  stay  on  earth  happy,  for  it  will  cause  you  to  look  forward  to  a  brighter  future  and  to  a 
happy  reunion  with  friends  gone  before.  I  am  joined  with  James,  Joseph  and  William  in 
sending  love  to  you  from  the  spirit  of  Elizabeth  Ayers. 

Please  tell  Jay  that  the  spirit  of  Eli/.abeth  Hanchett  is  here.  Jay  can  tell  his  wife  that 
Bud  and  Max  are  here.  H.  Hanchett. 

The  spirit  of  Henry  Osborne,  also  his  mother,  too,  is  present. 

I  have  come  to  tell  you  all  that  there  is  a  life  after  death,  and  that  it  is  not  as  bad  as 
your  preachers  paint  it.  \Vm.  McFarland. 

Tell  John  that  I  have  come  to  assure  him  of  my  happiness  in  spirit  life. 

\V.  J.  Davies. 

The  spirit  of  G.  Otis  is  present. 

I  have  come  to  make  my  presence  known.  A.  Eastman. 

Please  tell  Willie  Spalding  th.at  I  am  with  him  in  spirit,  though  absent  in  body,  and 
that  I  hope  soon  to  demonstrate  my  presence  to  him  at  his  own  home.  May  Spalding. 

Jane  Cleveland  wishes  E.  R.  to  know  of  her  happiness  in  the  spirit  world. 


74  PSYCHOGRAPHV. 

On  Sunday  night  we  appeared  before  a  large  audience  at 
the  Grand  Opera  House.  After  a  brief  address  by  the  writer, 
an  able  but  skeptical  committee,  of  which  ex-Mayor  Spence 
was  a  member,  was  chosen.  They  proceeded  with  the  utmost 
caution  to  clean  and  seal  the  slates,  never  allowing  them  to 
leave  their  hands  for  a  moment.  A  few  minutes  only  elapsed 
when  the  committee  was  requested  to  break  the  seals.  Some 
twenty-four  written  messages  to  persons  in  the  audience  were 
found  within  the  slates.  Each  member  of  the  committee 
stated  the  above  facts,  and  declared  that  he  did  not  know  how 
the  writing  came  there.  Other  slates  were  written,  and  a  fine 
likeness  of  Mrs.  Breed  was  given  by  the  spirit  artist,  St.  Clair. 
Other  slates  would  doubtless  have  been  written  over  but  for 
the  inharmony  caused  by  some  unreasoning  skeptics  present, 
who  were  unwilling  to  trust  the  investigation  to  their  own 
committee. 

We  are  pleased  to  note  that  Mr.  Evans'  psychic  powers 
are  increasing.  The  writing,  before  a  public  audience,  comes 
much  more  readily  than  at  first.  Through  his  wonderful  gifts 
the  world  will  be  convinced  of  spirit  power  as  never  before;  for 
through  him  the  truth  can  be  presented  in  a  manner  to  sweep 
away  all  doubts.  At  his  private  seances,  in  nearly  all  instances, 
investigators  bring  their  own  slates  (single  and  double  and  of 
all  sizes),  and  they  invariably  get  them  written  full. 

After  our  public  seance  in  Los  Angeles,  a  juggler  named 
Ausbach  published  a  card  in  one  of  the  local  papers,  in  which 
he  claimed  to  expose  Mr.  Evans  by  insisting  that  he  used  false 
bottoms  to  his  slates.  We  replied  to  this  through  the  same 
journal  as  follows: 

MR.  AUSBACHS  "  EXPOSE." 

Colonel  Owen's  Defense  of  the  Slate-Writing  Mediu.m. 
Editor  Express : — Will  you  kindly  permit  me  a  few  words  in  reply  to 
Sala  Ausbach's  explanation  (?)  of  Mr.  Evans'  method  of  independent  slate- 
wriling,  as  published  in  your  issue  of  Tuesday  evening  ? 


[KIT    I'ICTrREI  OF    MRS.    BREED. 
[Taken  through   the  mecHumsliip  of  Fred   Evans,  al  Chilli's  Opera   House,  Los  Angeles,   the 
slate   lieing  held  upon  the  heail  of  Mr.  Bhss.  a  memlier  of  the  committee 
selected  by  the  audience  to  prepare  and  hold  the  slates.] 


76  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

We  are  surprised  that  so  "  well-known  and  expert  a  juggler  "  as  Mr.  Aus- 
bach  claims  to  be,  should  attempt  to  impose  upon  an  intelligent  public  that 
ancient  ' '  fake  "  of  a  false  bottom  to  the  slates,  as  an  explanation  of  the  writing 
witnessed  by  your  reporter  at  our  rooms  on  Saturday  evening  last,  and  also  by 
the  Los  Angeles  public  at  the  Opera  House  on  the  evening  following.  Does 
he  not  know  that  the  very  first  thing  any  intelligent  committee  would  look  for 
would  be  said  alleged  "false  bottoms?"  It  is  certainly  not  very  compli- 
mentary to  the  discernment  of  the  competent  committee  chosen  by  the  audi- 
ence, nor  to  the  sharp-eyed  reporters  of  the  Los  Angeles  press,  who  had  every 
opportunity  to  demonstrate  the  fallacy  of  the  "false  bottom"  theory,  to 
assume  that  they  could  be  so  easily  duped. 

At  the  reporter's  seance,  one  of  the  very  best  tests  given  was  upon  a 
single  slate  in  the  hands  of  the  gentlemen  present— the  writing  appearing  in 
colors  over  the  lines  of  an  oblique  cross  placed  upon  the  slate.  Would  they 
not  have  been  apt  to  detect  the  cheap  trick,  and  have  branded  Mr.  Evans  as 
he  deserved  to  be,  had  he  resorted  to  any  such  silly  deceptions.? 

We  can  give  the  names  of  twenty  respectable  and  intelligent  citizens  of 
Los  Angeles,  who  have  come  to  Mr.  Evans'  rooms  during  the  present  week, 
bringing  their  own  slates  (double  and  single  and  of  all  sizes),  all  of  whom 
have  obtained  the  writing  thereon  under  their  own  hands.  In  no  instance  has 
there  been  less  than  two,  and  in  one  instance  as  many  as  eight  slates,  written  full. 

In  the  light  of  this  fact,  what  becomes  of  Mr.  Ausbach's  "false  bot- 
tom "  theory  ?  It  looks  very  much  as  though  the  aforesaid  "  expert  juggler  " 
was  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  little  free  advertising  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Evans' 
reputation.  Very  respectfully,  J.  J.  Owen. 

Los  Angeles,  April  21,  1887. 

CHALLENGE    ACCEPTED. 

The  following  also  appeared  in  the  Tribtme  of  that  city : 

Editor  Tribune: — In  your  issue  of  this  morning,  Mr.  George  L.  Wilson, 

assuming  that  the  writing  produced  under  the  hands  of  the  committee  at  the 

Opera  House  on  Sunday  evening  last  was  a   "  chemically-prepared  slate  trick," 

says,  over  his  own  signature: 

I  will  buy  two  slates  and  put  them  in  the  hands  of  the  same  committee,  and  if  Evans  & 
Co.  can  write  one  word  on  either  of  such  slates  I  will  pay  them  $1000.  I  will  put  the  money 
in  the  hands  of  the  committee. 

While  Mr.  Evans  cannot,  of  his  own  skill  or  volition,  produce  one  word 
between  closed  slates,  he  is  willing  to  try  the  experiment  proposed.  As  we 
must  leave  for  Santa  Barbara  on  Saturday  morning,  the  experiment  must  take 


FRED    EVANS    AT    LOS    ANGELES.  77 

place  as  soon  as  possible;  but  no  extended  time  is  needed  for  preliminaries. 
Mr.  Wilson  will  please  deposit  his  $1000  with  the  committee  (of  which  Mr. 
Spence,  of  the  National  Bank,  is  a  member)  at  once,  and  arrangements  will 
be  immediately  made  for  the  seance.  Should  the  experiment  prove  a  success, 
we  will  leave  $100  of  the  sum  in  the  hands  of  the  committee,  to  be  distributed 
among  the  poor  of  Los  Angeles  at  their  discretion.  J.  J.   Owen, 

Los  Angeles,  April  21,  1887.  Manager  for  Fred  Evans. 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  ''Mr.  Wilson"  was  never  more 
heard  from. 

Concerning  Fred  Evans  and  his  work,  the  Los  Angeles 
Express  contained  the  following,  entitled 

THE  SPIRIT  WORLD. 

A  Clever  Exhibition  of  Ghostly  Skill— Colonel  Owen's  Protege— A  Young 
Sailor  Who  Became  a  Medium — How  He  Did  It — Seance  with  Skeptical 
Reporters — They  Go  Home  Mystified — Entertainment  at  the  Grand 
Opera  House. 

Colonel  J.  J.  Owen,  erstwhile  editor  of  the  Santa  Clara  portion  of  the 
northern  citrus  belt,  the  San  Jose  Mercury,  arrived  in  this  city  on  Thursday, 
and  on  Friday  afternoon  visited  this  office  and  informed  the  editor  that,  if 
convenient,  he  would  like  a  reporter  to  be  detailed  to  visit  his  rooms  at  the 
Montrose,  Saturday  night,  at  eight  o'clock,  and  there  witness  an  exposition  of 
what  is  known  in  spiritualistic  circles  as  "independent  slate-writing,"  the 
placing  of  two  slates  together,  with  a  bit  of  pencil  between  them,  by  a  medium, 
the  laying  on  of  hands  by  the  spectators,  and  the  visitation  of  an  alleged  spirit 
who  inscribes  messages  upon  them. 

The  medium  who  claimed  to  be  possessed  of  this  wonderful  power. 
Colonel  Owen  said,  was  a  young  man  named  Fred  Evans.  Accordingly, 
Saturday  evening,  an  Express  reporter  knocked  upon  the  door  of  room 
eighteen,  at  the  Montrose.  A  voice  answered,  "  Come  in,"  and  the  scribe, 
entering,  found  himself  in  a  very  cozy  apartment,  and  standing  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  extremely  youthful  looking  and  handsome  man,  attired  in  a  neat 
suit  of  black,  of  well-cut  features,  and  possessed  of  a  dashing  pair  of  clear, 
large  black  eyes. 

"A  reporter,  aren't  you?"  he  asked,  and  being  answered  in  the 
affirmative,  he  said:  "I  thought  so.  You  see,  I  told  Colonel  Owen  to 
invite  the  members  of  the  press,  that  I  might  show  them  what  I  could  do, 
before  my  formal  appearance  at  the  Opera  House  to-morrow  night." 


78  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

Then  Mr.  Evans  (for  it  was  the  medium  himself)  showed  the  reporter 
a  chair,  and  the  two,  sitting  opposite  each  other  at  a  pine  board  table,  were 
soon  conversing.  The  conversation  naturally  turned  to  the  medium  himself, 
and  in  response  to  queries  of  the  Express  man,  Mr.  Evans,  in  a  very  agree- 
able way,  related  the  following  of  himself  and  his  career. 

[Here  follows  an  account  of  Mr.  Evans'  early  life  and  development  as  a  medium,  which 
has  already  appeared  in  this  work,  and  which  we  omit  here. — The  Author.] 

Evans  told  this  story  without  any  of  that  display  characteristic  of  so 
many  so-called  mediums,  and  in  a  manner  that  would  generally  carry  to  an 
auditor  the  conviction  that  he  was  speaking  the  truth.  At  nine  o'clock  Mr. 
Berry,  a  Herald  representative,  and  Mr.  J.  W.  Maddrill,  of  the  Tribune, 
entered.  Evans  announced  that  he  would  proceed  with  the  seance,  and  then 
directed  the  "  pencil  pushers  "  to  arrange  themselves  around  the  table,  and 
they  did  so.  Colonel  Owen,  himself,  took  a  seat  next  to  the  Express  repre- 
sentative, Mr.  Maddrill  sat  to  his  left,  and  Mr.  Berry  next.  Evans'  seat  was 
directly  opposite  his  audience,  across  the  table;  then,  at  the  medium's 
request,  a  most  minute  examination  was  made  of  four  common  school  slates, 
about  4x6  inches  in  size,  framed  with  pine  wood  usually  used  in  slate  manu- 
facture. After  the  slates  had  been  inspected,  Evans  took  from  the  box  a 
slate  pencil  and  scratched  the  surfaces  over  with  it.  He  then  spat  on  them, 
cleaned  them  off,  and  then  handed  them  again  to  the  newspaper  men. 
They  were  as  of  yore.  Taking  two  of  them  and  placing  them  together, 
Evans  dropped  a  bit  of  pencil  between  them,  and  then  sealed  them  together 
with  common  red  sealing  wax.  The  same  performance  was  gone  through 
with  the  other  two  slates,  and,  laymg  one  pair  above  the  other  on  the  table, 
the  medium  directed  all  four  persons  to  place  their  fingers  upon  them  and 
"  arrange  a  battery;  "  then  the  little  party  sat  in  silence,  and  awaited  coming 
events.  Evans  assumed  an  easy  position  in  his  chair,  and  very  shortly  signs 
of  his  laboring  under  a  severe  mental  struggle  were  made  apparent.  He 
writhed  and  twitched  his  fingers,  and  finally  grasped  a  pencil  and  commenced 
writing  upside  down,  with  lightning-like  rapidity. 

"  He  has  heard  them,"  whispered  Colonel  Owen  as  Evans  finished. 

Turning  the  paper  about  one  could  readily  decipher  the  writing.  It  was 
in  words  as  follows: 

Yes,  I  will  write  on  the  slates  to  the  press.  John  Gray. 

"  Who's  John  Gray  ?"  was  the  simultaneous  inquiry  of  the  newspaper 
men. 

"He  is  Mr.  Evans'  '  psychographic  '  control;  more  properly  speaking, 
the  medium's  guide  in  the  spirit  world,"  was  the  whispered  response  of 
Colonel  Owen. 


FRED    EVANS    AT    I.OS    ANGELES.  79 

At  this  moment  the  grating  of  the  bit  of  pencil  between  the  two  upper- 
most slates  could  be  distinctly  heard,  and  in  a  moment  Mr.  Evans  had 
ordered  hands  removed.  He  picked  up  the  slates  and  handed  them  to  Mr. 
Maddrill,  at  the  same  time  requesting  him  to  force  the  slates  apart.  Maddrill 
did  so,  and  on  the  top  slate  of  the  two  were  written,  in  excellent  chirography, 
the  following  messages: 

[We  omit  the  mess.iges,  ,-is  of  no  particuLir  interest  in  this  connection.— The  Author.] 

One  of  the  slates  was  then  thoroughly  washed  in  water,  all  present  at 
first  tasting,  and,  found  pure,  was  placed  on  the  table,  and  between  it  and  the 
table  board  was  placed  a  bit  of  pencil  that  had  been  used  on  the  slate  just 
examined.  On  this  single  slate  the  party  placed  their  fingers,  the  same  mental 
struggle  in  Evans  was  apparent  in  a  moment,  and  he  quickly  inquired,  in 
hollow  tones,  "  Is  that  you,  Johnny.'  "  With  one  accord  the  trio  of  reporters 
glanced  at  Colonel  Owen.  "  He  is  asking  for  his  spirit  control,"  was  his 
response.  "  Is  that  you  ?"  continued  Evans.  "Well,  will  you  show  the 
reporters  that  what  we  believe  is  truth,  by  writing  on  this  single  slate,  after  I 
mark  it  with  a  cross,  by  writing  across  and  over  the  cross  I  place  on  it — 
will  you  ?  " 

Then  Evans  grasped  a  pencil,  and  in  the  same  way  he  did  before  wrote 
a  few  words.  Inverted,  they  read,  "  Yes,  I  will."  Evans  then  quickly 
picked  up  the  little  slate,  and  with  a  bit  of  pencil  drew  two  lines  on  it  crossing 
each  other  obliquely  over  the  surface.  It  was  then  replaced,  and  the  scribes' 
fingers,  with  those  of  Colonel  Owen,  were  soon  upon  it.  In  a  remarkably  short 
space  of  time  the  grating  noise  was  heard.  Evans,  when  it  ceased,  ordered 
the  slate  lifted,  and,  to  the  intense  wonder  of  his  audience,  there  upon  its 
surface  was  a  message,  its  letters  written  in  colors  of  purple,  red,  green,  blue, 
and  white,  over  the  cross  Evans  had  placed  upon  it.  So  much  were  they 
amazed  that  nothing  but  "Ohs!"  and  "Ohs!"  were  uttered  for  several 
moments. 

"That  I  consider  my  best  demonstration  of  the  proof  that  spiritual 
power  exists,"  said  Mr.  Evans,  as  well  he  might,  trium[)hantly.  The  message, 
in  its  parti-colored  writing,  read  as  follows: 

To  THE  Gentlemen  of  the  I.os  Anc.ei.es  Press— /Pt'iir  Friends:— I  .im  pleased 
to  meet  you  all  here  this  evening  to  witness  this  phenomenon.  I  know  that  many  of  you 
would  like  to  bear  witness  of  the  truth  of  spirit  return;  but,  alas,  too  many  are  afraid  that  their 
belief  would  be  ridiculed  and  scoffed  at  by  their  friends.  All  that  I  ask  is  a  fair  report  of  this 
test  of  spirit  power,  for  by  so  doing  it  will  encourage  us  to  give  you  more  proofs,  in  the  near 
future,  of  your  spirit  friends.     This  from  your  medium's  guide.  Good-night. 

John  Gray. 

After  a  most  minute  examination  of  the  table,  the  furniture  in  the  room, 
its  walls,  ceilings  and  windows,  the  party  gave  up  the  solution  of  what  they 


80  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

thought  a  problem,  when  Mr.  Evans  said  he  would,  if  possible,  endeavor  to 
communicate  with  the  artist  spirit,  Stanley  St.  Clair. 

At  once  the  party  returned  to  their  seats.  The  Express  reporter  cleared  off 
a  slate,  and  it  was  placed  as  had  been  the  one  on  which  was  the  cross.  Hands 
were  then  laid  upon  it,  and  in  less  than  three  minutes  Mr.  Evans  had  a  com- 
munication with  St.  Clair,  his  artistic  spirit.  He  wrote  upon  a  paper  what 
St.  Clair  had  to  say.  The  unseen  delineator  said  he  would,  for  the  press, 
draw  a  picture  on  the  slate,  and  in  a  few  minutes  Evans  lifted  the  slate  from 
the  table.  Engraved  upon  it  in  slate  pencil  was  a  likeness  of  John  Pierpont, 
he  poet — an  artistic  bit  of  work.  About  the  portrait,  in  legible  hand,  was 
written  the  following: 

Dear  Friends  of  Los  Angeles:— You  who  have  it  in  your  power  to  spread  this  knowl- 
dge  of  spiritual  nature,  I  have  drawn  this  spirit  picture  of  John  Pierpont  for  your  benefit  and  at 
the  request  of  the  press,  and  if  you  will  speak  of  it  as  you  see  it,  you  will  amply  repay 
Yours  in  spirit, 

Artist  Stanley  St.  Clair. 

Evans'  auditors  were  thoroughly  mystified.  It  was  inexplicable,  unfathom- 
able. Mr.  Evans,  as  the  party  retired,  smilingly  bade  them  good-night, 
and  asked  specially  that  they  attend  his  performance  at  the  Opera  House. 

AT  THE  OPERA  HOUSE. 

Four  hundred  people  gathered  in  the  Opera  House  to  witness  Evans 
go  through  his  slate-writing  manifestations.  Ex-Mayor  Spence,  Mr.  Jesse 
Yarnell,  and  O.  H.  Bliss  were  chosen  a  committee  to  scrutinize  his  work.  The 
manner  of  preparation  was  exactly  the  same  as  used  at  the  reporters'  seance, 
detailed  above,  and  of  course  the  committee  left  the  stage  more  mystified  and 
as  ignorant  of  Evans'  modus  operandi  as  they  were  when  they  went  upon  it. 
Considerable  excitement  was  created,  and  when  Colonel  Owen  and  his 
protege,  Mr.  Evans,  retired,  the  audience  became  a  noisy  one.  The  entertain- 
ment was  a  successful  and  mystical  one,  and  Evans  was  dubbed  an   "artist." 

The  Los  Angeles  Times,  who,  by  the  way,  was  accidentally 
omitted  in  the  press  invitation  seance,  and  consequently  felt  a 
little  sore,  has  the  following  to  say: 

About  400  people  gathered  at  the  Opera  House  last  night  to  attend 
the  seance  of  Fred  Evans,  assisted  by  J.  J.  Owen,  late  editor  of  the 
San  Jose  Mercury.  Evans  is  a  young  man,  and  was  met  by  Owen  some 
months  since,  who  thought  he  had  discovered  a  most  wonderful  being.  In 
consideration  of  the  row  that  was  kicked  up  last  night,  and  quelled  by  Owen,  it 
might  not  be  out  of  place  to  give  a  brief   history  of   that  gentleman.     For 


■REO    EVANS 


LOS    ANGELES.  81 


twenty  years  Owen  was  a  prominent  citizen  of  San  Jose,  and  was  sent  to  the 
Legislature  from  Santa  Clara  County  some  years  ago.  Mr.  Owen  entered  the 
newspaper  business  soon  after  he  took  up.  his  residence  in  the  Garden  City, 
and  during  the  twenty  years  of  his  residence  there,  he  was  an  able  advocate  of 
the  principles  of  the  Republican  party.  He  built  up  the  San  Jose  Mercury, 
and  when  he  disposed  of  that  paper,  about  two  years  ago,  it  was  the  best- 
paying  newspaper  property  in  the  Slate  outside  of  San  Francisco.  Mr.  Owen's 
friends,  and,  in  fact,  the  whole  Republican  party  of  Santa  Clara  County, 
objected  most  strongly  to  his  disposition  of  the  old  party  paper,  and  a  number 
of  the  local  leaders  of  the  county  met  the  gentleman,  and  almost  begged  him 
not  to  leavx  them  at  that  particular  time.  It  was  just  before  the  last  Presi- 
dential campaign,  and  Mr.  Owen  finally  consented  to  remain  until  after  the 
election,  but  he  could  not  consent  to  remain  any  longer  than  that,  for  a  new 
life,  or  a  new  set  of  ideas,  had  taken  possession  of  the  venerable  editor,  who 
had  made  a  State  reputation,  and  he  could  not  give  up  the  army  of  cranks 
who  had  thrown  their  nets  around  him.  His  friends  had  noticed  for  several 
years  that  he  was  becoming  a  strong  believer  in  Spiritualism,  and  they  feared 
that  he  was  throwing  up  his  useful  calling  to  add  his  influence  to  the  shadowy 
ranks.  Their  conjectures  proved  correct,  for,  after  taking  a  trip  to  Honolulu, 
Mr.  Owen  started  a  Spiritualist  paper  in  San  Francisco,  called  the  Golden 
Gate,  and  since  then  he  has  been  a  strong  supporter  of  the  mysteries  of  the 
"  spirit  land." 

Mr.  Evans  is  a  very  young  man,  who  does  not  look  as  though  he  is  yet 
out  of  his  teens.  His  every  action  shows  that  he  has  been  a  hard  worker  in 
the  peculiar  profession  he  has  adopted. 

Soon  after  the  audience  became  seated  at  the  Opera  House  last  evening, 
Owen  appeared  on  the  stage,  and  announced  that  the  circle  was  completed, 
and  the  seance  would  begin.  He  made  a  neat  little  speech,  and  was 
frequently  applauded  by  the  believers  present. 

The  slates  at  this  seance  were  all  carried  away  by  the 
excited  audience,  but  the  success  was  similar  to  that  witnessed 
at  other  places. 


OUR  PSYCHIC  IN  SANTA  BARBARA. 

PS  compared  with  the  mad  rush  and  whirl  of  business  life  of 
Los  Angeles  and  San  Diego,  Santa  Barbara  presented  a 
picture  of  quiet  repose.  Here  were  to  be  seen  many  of 
the  sleepy  old  relics  of  Mexican  architecture — the  one-storied, 
tile-roofed,  ungainly  adobe  structures  of  a  past  age  ;  but  they  are 
rapidly  melting  away  before  the  advancing  tide  of  a  new  and 
better  civilization.  The  town  had  caught  the  inspiration  of  the 
whistle  of  the  approaching  locomotive,  and  was  preparing  to 
take  its  place  among  the  cities  of  the  Golden  State  as  the  queen 
of  them  all,  in  point  of  beauty  of  location  and  salubrity  of 
climate. 

If  the  reader  will  examine  the  map  of  California,  he  will 
find  the  trend  of  the  Coast  at  this  point  almost  due  west,  for  a 
distance  of  about  fifty  miles,  to  Point  Conception.  The  cold 
northern  trade  winds  that  sweep  the  Coast  during  the  summer 
months  are  broken  at  this  point,  and,  by  the  time  they  reach 
Santa  Barbara,  are  softened  into  gentle  breezes,  with  just 
enough  of  the  fresh  breath  of  the  sea  to  make  the  air  a 
delightful  solace  to  all  weak  lungs. 

The  town  is  located  upon  an  undulating  plateau  at  the 
base  of  the  Santa  Inez  Mountains,  embracing  the  horseshoe- 
shaped  Bay  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  in  natural  advantages  is 
really  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  beautiful  cities  in  the 
world.  Its  present  population  is  about  6000,  to  be  doubled, 
doubtless,  within  the  next  five  years.  From  its  then  lack  of 
railroad  communication  with  the  outer  world,  it  had  hitherto 
been  heavily  handicapped  in  its  race  for  fame  ;  but  that  objection 
has  now  been  removed,  and  we  may  reasonably  expect  to  see 
Santa  Barbara  speedily  rise  to  the  importance  which  her 
beauty  of  location  and  salubrity  of  climate  justly  entitle  her. 


OTR    I'SVCllIC    IN    SANTA    liARliAKA.  83 

We  see  here,  everywhere,  the  footprints  of  that  grand  soul 
and  brave  SpirituaHst,  Colonel  Hollister,  who  lately  passed  on 
to  the  other  life.  The  Arlington  Hotel,  one  of  the  best 
caravansaries  in  the  State,  was  the  creation  of  his  brain,  together 
with  many  other  public  and  private  buildings.  He  had 
unbounded  faith  in  the  future  of  Santa  Barbara,  and  zealously 
planned  to  that  end.  His  dreams  were  just  coming  to  be 
waking  realities  when  the  summons  came  that  called  him  hence. 
But  he  has  lost  none  of  his  interest  in  the  town,  or  in  his  old 
friends,  as  he  comes  back  frequently  to  assure  us. 

We  arrived  in  Santa  Barbara,  on  Saturday  evening,  where 
we  were  most  cordially  received  by  expectant  friends.  On 
Sunday  evening  Mr.  Evans  gave  his  usual  seance  to  reporters, 
and  with  his  usual  success.  The  papers  here  are  largely  under 
the  thrall  of  an  unjust  public  opinion  concerning  Spiritualism  ; 
hence  their  editors  find  it  difficult  to  state  a  simple  fact  favoring 
cur  phenomena,  without  intruding  a  sneer  or  quibbling  over  the 
matter  of  the  communications  received.  The  Press,  after 
describing  the  reporters'  seance  quite  fairly,  adds  the  following: 

The  visitors  were  all  skeptics  before  the  seance,  are  so  still,  and  will  no 
doubt  always  remain  so,  but  unanimously  decided  that  there  was  something 
very  remarkable  about  this  slate-writing  business.  The  test  was  about  all  that 
could  be  desired  by  those  present,  but  if  any  good  can  result  from  these  com- 
munications, not  one  of  this  number  was  able  to  discover  it. 

Thus,  ''  not  one  of  this  number  "  was  able  to  discover  any 
good  result  in  the  demonstration  of  the  e.\istence  of  an  inde- 
pendent intelligent  force  in  nature — a  force  capable  of  producing 
intelligible  messages  from  the  so-called  dead  to  the  living,  within 
closed  slates,  without  the  touch  of  mortal  hands !  Had  these 
reporters  lived  in  a  past  age  they  would,  doubtless,  have  been 
unable  to  "discover  "  that  any  good  could  result  from  believing 
the  world  was  round  instead  of  flat;  or  that  Sir  Isaac  Newton, 
or  Copernicus,  or  Professor  Morse,  were  anything  more  than 
cranks  when  they  demonstrated  to  the  world  certain  great  facts 


84  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

of  nature.  The  conservatism  that  would  belittle  or  ignore  a 
truth  of  any  kind,  because  of  its  unpopularity,  is  the  conserva- 
tism of  cowardice.  It  is  what  the  world's  great  reformers  and 
discoverers  have  always  had  to  contend  with.  It  sat  on  the 
banks  of  the  Hudson,  in  Fulton's  day,  and  sneered  at  his 
"  folly  "  of  attempting  to  propel  a  vessel  by  steam;  it  ridiculed 
Columbus  in  his  proposed  voyage  of  discovery — in  short,  it  has 
''  made  faces  "  at  the  prophets  and  seers  in  all  ages  of  the  world, 
and  will  probably  continue  to  do  so  until  humanity  ascends  to 
higher  levels. 

After  the  reporters'  seance,  on  Sunday  evening,  which  was 
held  at  an  early  hour,  the  writer  addressed  an  intelligent  audi- 
ence, at  Lobero's  Theatre,  on  the  "  Claims  and  Mission  ot 
Spiritualism,"  and  at  the  same  place,  on  Tuesday  evening,  Mr. 
Evans  gave  a  public  seance,  which  was  an  unusually  fine 
success.  There  was  none  of  the  hoodlum  element  present 
which  we  encountered  in  San  Diego  and  Los  Angeles.  The 
audience  was  composed  of  the  best  people  of  the  town,  orderly 
and  passive,  thus  giving  the  medium  the  best  possible  con- 
ditions. The  committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Porter  and 
Noble  and  Mrs.  Iverson — all  skeptics,  but  honest  and  fair- 
minded  people.  Five  slates  full  of  messages  were  obtained, 
including  a  likeness  of  the  late  James  Brownell  Clark,  of 
Oakland.  Had  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Evans  or  of  the  writer  been 
complied  with,  we  should  have  had  a  likeness  of  Colonel 
Hollister,  as  we  were  both  desirous  of  obtaining  a  picture  of  our 
old  friend;  but  the  spirit  guides  are  the  sole  masters  of  the  situ- 
ation, and  they  give  us  what  they  will.  Spirit  John  Gray  gave 
the  test  of  writing  upon  a  slate  upon  which  a  cross  had  previ- 
ously been  made,  in  plain  sight  of  the  audience  and  committee, 
the  slate  being  placed  under  the  foot  of  one  of  the  committee. 
The  writing  appeared  in  twelve  different  colors  or  shades.  Of 
the  numerous  messages  received,  the  following,  from  Colonel 
Hollister,  was  so  characteristic  of  the  writer  thereof  as  to  be 


OUR    PSVCIIIC    IN    SANTA    ItARHAKA.  85 

readily  recognized  by  the  audience  present  ere  the  reading  was 
one-half  finished : 

Dear  Friends  : — I  am  glad  that  this  opportunity  has  been  given  me  to 
write  a  few  lines  to  my  many  friends  here.  I  know  there  are  many  things  left 
undone  that  I  might  have  straightened  out.  But  you  know  none  of  us  are 
perfect.  But  I  am  glad  to  say  that  I  am  happy  here  in  the  spirit  world;  and 
though  I  left  things  a  little  mixed  upon  earth,  I  found  everything  as  straight  as 
a  string  in  the  spirit  world.  I  am  glad  to  predict  to  my  many  old  friends  that 
the  good  time  that  they  have  long  looked  for  will  soon  come  to  pass,  and  dear 
old  Santa  Barbara  will  take  the  lead  of  California.  This  is  what  I  have  long 
looked  forward  to;  and  I  will  rejoice  with  you  in  the  spirit  world  as  though  I 
were  in  Santa  Barbara.  But  before  this  comes  to  pass  you  will  have  a  little 
trouble  with  your  railroad,  which  will  soon  be  overcome,  then  prosperity  to 
Santa  Barbara.  Give  my  love  to  my  dear  wife,  sons,  and  my  daughter.  Tell 
them  there  are  many  things  I  regret,  but  let  the  past  be  buried.  My  old 
friends,  Barker,  Barber,  Winchester,  Morris,  Benn,  Maxwell,  Owen,  and  many 
others,  you  all  have  the  best  wishes  of  W.  VV.  HoUister.     Good-night. 

The  message  by  Spirit  John  Gray,  written  in  twelve  colors 
upon  the  under  side  of  a  slate  placed  upon  the  floor,  and  under 
the  feet  of  one  of  the  committee,  is  also  worth  producing : 

My  De.\r  Friends  of  S.'VNta  Barbara: — I  am  much  pleased  to  see 
you  all  gathered  here  this  evening.  Some  of  you  have  come  here  out  of  pure 
curiosity,  some  to  investigate,  whilst  others  come  already  satisfied  of  the  truth. 
But  you  are  all  interested  in  knowing  of  a  future  life — and  this  is  the  mission 
of  spirit  return — and  are  eagerly  awaiting  a  message  from  the  spirit  world. 
And  this  is  the  mission  of  the  medium  and  Mr.  Owen,  to  present  such  proof 
as  I  will,  from  time  to  time,  demonstrate  through  them,  and  it  remains  for 
you  to  accept  or  reject  as  you  will.  If  you  accept  you  will  find  it  to  your 
own  happiness  and  peace  of  mmd.  I  will  bring  the  medium  here  again  soon. 
Until  then,  good-night.     From  spirit  guide,  John  Gray. 

Mr.  Noble,  of  the  committee,  reported  that,  to  use  his 
own  words,  "there  was  not  a  scintilla  of  an  attempt  at  decep- 
tion practiced  by  the  medium"  —  that  everything  was  fair  and 
above  board,  and  that  the  writing  was  produced  in  some 
manner  unknown  to  himself.  The  two  other  members  of  the 
committee  confirmed  Mr.  Noble  in  his  report. 


PSYCHOGRAPHY. 


In  all  of  the  places  we  have  visited,  Mr,  Evans  gave  all 
the  private  sittings  he  was  able  to,  the  sitters  almost  invariably 
bringing  their  own  slates,  and  in  no  instance  failing  to  obtain 
messages  from  their  spirit  friends  within.  Scores  of  applicants 
for  seances  were  necessarily  turned  away  for  want  of  time. 


Kf'4rr^, 


MR.  AND  MRS.  EVANS  IN  STOCKTON. 


TT7HE  following  account  of  an  interesting  seance  in  Stockton 
&\y  was  furnished  to  the  Golden  Gate  by  a  correspondent 
who  was  present  : 
Editor  of  Golden  Gate: — Stockton  is  a  peculiar  place,  made  up 
largely  of  peculiar  people,  but  since  you  sent  your  best  and  brightest  on  a  sort 
of  missionary  visit  here,  to  commemorate  the  Fortieth  Anniversary  of  the  dawn 
of  Modern  Spiritualism,  I  would  like  to  tell  you  that  his  coming  among  us 
has  sown  seed  which  will  bear  abundantly,  inasmuch  as  it  has  set  all  classes 
and  phases  of  our  society  to  thinking. 

Fred  Evans,  the  slate-writer,  seen  and  heard  from  afar  ;  Fred  Evans, 
whose  modest  advertisement  has  for  months  been  a  feature  of  the  Golden  Gate, 
and  whose  marvelous  and  almost  incredible  slate-writings  and  profile-pictures 
caused  such  food  for  research  and  speculation  to  your  readers;  and  Fred 
Evans  revealed  in  the  full,  broad  light,  standing  on  the  stage  of  the  Avon 
Theatre,  before  a  critical  and  intelligent  audience,  though  one  and  the  same 
being,  wrought  a  marked  change  in  spiritualistic  circles. 

People  are  dumfounded  in  the  face  of  such  proof  of  spirit  return,  and 
while  those  who  know  as  much  as  can  be  known  of  its  truth  rejoice  in  the 
beauty  and  comfort  of  these  revelations,  the  doubters  and  investigators,  unwil- 
ling to  give  up,  refuse  to  believe  the  evidence  of  their  own  eyes,  and  say,  "  Oh, 
well,  the  slates  you  held  in  your  hands  were  cha7iged,  but  you  did  not 
know  it." 

Stockton  has  always  been  dubbed  "the  crazy  town,"  but  none  of  us 
who  know  of  and  have  accepted  the  beautiful  religion  of  Spiritualism  but  are 
sane  enough  to  recognize  messages  and  tokens  of  love  which  the  heart  has 
often  ached  to  receive  from  lips  which  have  been  stilled  forever  on  this  side 
of  the  river  of  life. 

Save  a  few  who  have  advanced  a  long  way  in  the  new  light,  we  are  a  very 
skeptical  people  as  a  class,  but  the  fact  of  Mr.  Evans'  presence  here  induced 
people  to  visit  him  whose  testimony  would  be  a  criticism  of  his  ability  as  a 
medium;  hence,  when  the  evening  of  his  public  appearance  arrived,  the 
theatre  was  early  filled  with  a  large  and  intelligent  audience. 

Mrs.    Evans  gave  some   remarkable  tests,  announcing  the  presence  of 


88  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

many  spirits  who  had  been  attracted  by  the  cords  of  love  which  still  bound 
them  to  earth,  and  in  many  cases  the  spirits  were  recognized  and  acknowl- 
edged. But  it  was  evident  that  slate-writing  was  the  magnet  which  attracted 
the  audience,  and  when  Mr.  Evans  appeared  a  general  air  of  satisfaction  was 
noticeable  upon  the  countenances  of  those  present. 

With  brief  remarks,  he  proposed  that,  as  a  matter  of  satisfaction  to 
themselves,  some  member  of  the  audience  nominate  a  gentleman  and  lady  to 
go  on  the  stage  as  a  committee,  to  see  that  everything  was  done  on  the  square. 
Accordingly,  Mr.  James  C.  Gage,  a  noted  skeptic,  and  Mrs.  Virginia  W. 
Bucroft  were  chosen.  A  small  pine  table  was  placed  near  the  footlights,  and 
upon  this  a  tiny  box  with  pencils,  etc.;  and  upon  a  chair  si.x  small  slates, 
which  were  scratched  over  with  a  slate  pencil,  washed  off  with  a  sponge,  and 
rubbed  dry  with  a  white  handkerchief,  the  slate  being  held  up  before  the 
audience  all  the  time  during  the  operation. 

Then  two  of  the  slates  were  strapped  together  with  a  broad  rubber  band, 
and  given,  one  to  Mr.  Gage,  and  the  other  to  the  lady.  The  two  other  slates 
were  tossed  upon  the  floor,  thus  disposing  of  the  six  slates.  Some  ten 
minutes  elapsed,  when  Mr.  Colnon,  of  the  Mail,  was  requested  to  come  to 
the  platform  and  open  the  slates.  The  gentleman  quickly  responded. 
Taking  the  slates  from  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Bucroft,  he  told  the  audience  that 
he  found  closely  written  thereon  "some  twenty  different  messages,  some  in 
bright  colors,  and  others  in  pencil,  each  one  of  which  was  divided  by  white 
lines,  and  a  small  portrait  in  one  corner." 

Mr.  Gage's  slates  were  found  to  contain  a  like  number  of  messages, 
each  one  of  which  was  a  greeting  to  some  person  in  the  audience.  These 
strange  telegrams,  on  being  read  aloud,  vi^ere  recognized,  and  doubtless 
brought  joy  and  consolation  to  long  lonely  and  bereaved  hearts. 

On  the  next  day,  Monday,  the  slates  were  neatly  framed  and  hung  on  a 
bulletin  board  on  Mam  Street,  where  all  day  long  crowds  were  gazing  at  the 
strange  and  unexplainable  calligraphy. 

Mr.  Evans  has  returned  to  you  again,  but  with  his  name  and  presence  are 
associated  the  most  astounding  experiences  ever  met  with  either  in  public  or 
private  seances  among  us.  He  says  he  may  come  again  soon,  and  hoping  that 
he  will  find  time  and  inclination  to  do  so,  that  the  good  people  here  may  have 
further  proof  of  spirit  return,  I  subscribe  myself 

Yours  fraternally, 

Stockton,  Cal.  B.  W. 


MK<.    KVANS     IN     S  IOC  K  TON.  89 


A  "MAIL"  SKEPTIC    DISARMED. 

Both  the  editor  and  reporter  of  tlie  Stockton  Mail  called 
upon  Mr.  Evans  at  his  rooms,  and  thus  relate  their  experience  : 

The  MaiFs  anti-Spiritualism  reporter  has  seen  a  good  many  alleged 
manifestations  by  spirits,  but  they  were  all  such  transparent  frauds  that  his 
unbelief  was  made  stronger  than  ever — not  quite  all,  either,  for  there  was 
one  medium  who  performed  certain  tricks  which  the  reporter  could  not 
fathom;  but  he  was  caught  up  so  many  times  in  the  seance,  and  fell  into  so 
many  little  traps  laid  for  him,  that  the  interviewer  regarded  his  performance 
as  all  of  a  piece  throughout.  The  readers  of  the  Mail  have  had  reports  by 
the  anti-Spiritism  man  from  time  to  time,  the  articles  on  sittings,  slate- 
writings,  lectures  and  circles,  (except  that  published  last  Monday)  having 
been  written  by  him. 

It  was,  therefore,  with  a  foregone  conclusion  that  he  would  discover 
another  fraud,  that  the  reporter  took  a  "  detail  "  yesterday,  and  accompanied 
by  a  friend  named  FarnoU,  rapped  at  the  door  of  No.  8i  in  the  Yo  Semite 
house,  and  called  for  Medium  Fred  Evans.  A  young  man  wearing  a  love  of  a 
smoking-jacket  responded.  He  had  made  an  engagement  for  four  o'clock,  he 
said,  and  as  it  lacked  but  a  few  minutes  of  that  hour,  the  visitors  would  have 
to  wait  awhile;  if  the  party  of  the  second  part  to  the  engagement  did  not 
show  up,  the  interviewers  would  be  accommodated  with  a  sitting.  During 
a  fifteen  minutes  general  chat  which  followed,  the  reporter  studied  Mr. 
Evans'  face.  The  medium  is  apparently  an  Englishman,  about  twenty-five 
years  old.  rather  dark-complexioned,  and  has  a  pleasing  expression  and  a 
kind,  frank  manner.  He  is  somewhat  good-looking  and  has  features  indica- 
tive of  a  noble  spirit — in  other  words,  he  looks  like  a  newspaper  reporter. 

After  it  had  become  apparent  that  the  former  engagement  was  not  to  be 
kept,  Mr.  Evans  invited  the  two  visitors  into  his  seance-room.  They  took 
seats  at  one  side  of  a  writing  desk,  Mr.  FarnoU  occupying  a  chair  near  a 
corner  of  it,  and  the  medium  sat  at  the  opposite  side.  The  reporter  produced 
two  small  slates  which  he  had  just  bought,  and,  as  he  thought  they  might 
perhaps  leave  his  hands,  sealed  them  together  with  slips  of  paper  on  which 
some  name  had  been  printed  to  his  order.  He  argued  that  as  the  medium 
could  not  have  duplicates  of  the  slips,  it  would  be  impossible  to  open  the  seals 
without  detection,  even  should  the  slates  be  taken  into  another  room. 
The  precaution,  however,  proved  to  be  needless,  for  the  slates  did  not  leave 
his  hands. 


90  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

This  test  was  not  very  satisfactory.  When  the  slates  were  opened  by 
the  interviewer,  at  the  close  of  the  sitting,  no  writing  was  found  within.  There 
was,  however,  a  rude  profile  sketch  of  a  face,  about  as  large  as  the  half  of 
a  silver  dollar  piece.  During  the  conversation  before  the  sitting,  Mr.  Evans 
had  said  that  he  could  not  assure  his  visitors  of  the  success  of  the  sealed 
slate-test  which  they  proposed;  and  that,  as  they  were  newspaper  representa- 
tives, he  did  not  care  to  undertake  it,  for  a  failure  would  be  interpreted  as  a 
negative  evidence  of  fraud  on  his  part.  But,  on  being  informed  that  they 
desired  that  particular  test,  he  assented. 

While  the  reporter  held  the  pair  of  slates  Mr.  Evans  picked  up  two  five- 
cent  school  slates,  wiped  them  clean  with  a  sponge,  exhibited  both  sides  of 
each,  and  handed  them  to  Farnoll.  The  reporter  watched  this  proceeding 
carefully  to  be  sure  that  neither  of  the  slates  went  below  the  table,  for  in 
that  case  it  would  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  substitute  for  it  one  that  had 
already  been  written  upon.  But  the  slates  were  held  a  foot  above  the  table — 
or  writing  desk — and  were  exhibited  on  both  sides  at  the  instant  they  were 
handed  to  Farnoll.  He  held  them  in  his  hands  twenty  minutes  or  so,  and 
upon  opening  them  found  a  closely-written  message,  covering  one  side,  signed 
by  a  dead  relative. 

During  the  twenty  minutes  that  the  last-described  manifestation  was 
being  awaited,  the  medium  performed  another  test.  He  cleaned  a  slate, 
displayed  both  sides,  and  laid  it  down  on  the  carpet  at  Mr.  Farnoll's  feet.  In 
doing  so,  it  passed  for  an  instant  behind  a  corner  of  the  desk,  so  that  this  test 
in  itself  might  not  be  considered  at  all  satisfactory  (inasmuch  as  there  was  a 
slight  chance  for  substitution  of  slates),  were  it  not  for  the  other  instances  in 
which  the  slates  were  held  above  the  table  and  in  which  there  was  not  a  ghost 
of  a  show  for  fraud.  Farnoll  placed  one  foot  upon  the  slate,  and  after  a  few 
minutes  picked  the  tablet  up  and  found  upon  it  a  message  from  an  aunt  of 
his  who  died  in  the  East,  and  whose  name  had  never  been  mentioned  by  him, 
even  in  his  family. 

In  the  i7iterim  from  time  to  time,  while  awaiting  messages  on  the  slates, 
Mr.  Evans  gave  some  remarkable  performances.  To  the  reporter  he  said  a 
spirit  was  present  giving  a  name  which  he  could  not  catch  exactly.  He 
repeated  three  or  four  names,  all  similar  to  the  reporter's  but  not  identical 
with  it.  The  reporter  said  he  knew  of  no  such  person.  Taking  a  slip  of 
paper,  the  interviewer  then  wrote  two  names,  folded  them  up,  and  placed 
them  on  his  sealed  slates.  There  was  a  bureau  and  its  mirror  at  one  end  of 
the  table,  and,  although  the  medium  sat  with  his  back  to  it  and  his  side  to  the 
writer,  the  latter  thought  it  best  to  avoid  any  possible  reflection,  by  shading  the 
paper  from  observation  with  his  hand  while  he  wrote.      As  soon  as  the  names 


MR.   AND    MRS.  EV.\NS    IN    STOCKTON.  5)1 

had  been  written  and  held  beneath  his  thumbs  on  the  slate,  Mr.  Evans 
remarked  that  he  could  then  give  the  name  which  he  had  been  unable  to 
pronounce  exactly  before,  and  he  spoke  it.  It  was  one  of  the  names  on  the 
slip.  He  next  wrote  that  cognomen  in  full,  together  with  the  spirit's  two 
Christian  names.     The  second  name  on  the  slip  was  also  given. 

A  like  manifestation  was  given  to  Mr.  FarnoU.  The  signatures  of  the 
messages  which  he  received  were  the  names  he  had  written  on  a  billet  of  paper 
which  he  held  in  his  hand. 

But  the  last  test  was  the  most  striking  of  all,  Mr.  Evans  picked  up  a 
slate  from  the  corner  of  the  table,  and  remarking  that  the  reporter  might  be 
so  skeptical  as  to  think  that  there  was  a  message  already  written  upon  it,  and 
that  it  was  simply  concealed  from  his  sight  by  some  wonderful  chemical 
process,  he  scratched  both  sides  of  it  pretty  well  with  his  pencil,  spat  on  it, 
and  rubbed  the  marks  out.  He  then  held  it  near  the  reporter's  face  and 
turned  both  sides  of  it  to  prove  that  they  were  clean.  He  next  placed  the 
slate  down  on  the  centre  of  the  desk,  with  a  bit  of  pencil  under  it.  The 
reporter  laid  his  hand  upon  the  slate  for  a  few  moments — five  or  ten  seconds — 
and  then  picked  it  up.  He  found  upon  it  a  message  directed  to  himself  and 
signed  by  a  dead  relative. 

This  closed  the  seance. 

Another  Mail  man  visited  Mr.  Evans  before  the  performance  described 
in  the  foregoing  had  been  given.  The  manifestations  he  received  were 
somewhat  similar,  but  in  two  instances  there  were  exceptional  differences. 
A  clean  slate  was  laid  on  the  carpet,  and  upon  being  picked  up  a  message 
was  found  on  it  written  in  various  colors,  one  running  into  another.  The 
medium  pointed  out  the  fact  that  they  were  the  colors  of  the  carpet  where 
the  slate  had  been  laid.  He  then  cleaned  a  slate  and  with  his  pencil  drew 
two  diagonal  lines  across  one  side.  The  slate  was  tossed  on  the  carpet  with 
that  side  down.  The  interviewer  took  it  up  a  few  minutes  afterwards  and 
found  another  message  in  colors  upon  it;  and  an  examination  showed  that 
the  writing  was  over  the  diagonal  lines. 

This  interviewer  secured,  also,  an  instantaneous  message,  closely  written, 
covering  the  whole  side  of  one  of  the  slates. 

"  Well,"  queried  Medium  Evans,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  sitting,  "  what 
do  you  think  now  ?  " 

"  I  think  it  is  genuine,"  was  the  honest  response. 

"  I'm  sorry  you  couldn't  get  a  message  on  your  sealed  slates,  but  may 
be  you'll  be  more  successful  next  time." 

"Oh,  it  wouldn't  have  been  a  bit  more  conclusive,  if  I  had." 

"  No,  I  don't  think  so  myself;  but  you  know  a  good  many  people  won't 


92  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

be  satisfied  unless  they  get  just  what  they  are  looking  for,  no  matter  if  another 
is  just  as  conclusive  or  not.  It's  a  hard  thing  to  make  people  believe  in 
mediums." 

"I  don't  blame  them,  judging  from  my  own  experience;  no  sensible 
man  could  see  the  average  manifestations  without  tumbling  to  the  tricks. 
You  are  the  first  and  the  only  one  who  has  offered  convincing  proof  of  the 
truth  of  Spiritualism,  or  '  odic '  force,  or  any  other  unknown  power  that  you 
might  call  it." 

The  Stockton  Press^  with  other  notices  of  Mr.  Evans, 
relates  the  following  : 

*  *  *  At  another  interview  which  a  member  of  the  management  of 
this  paper  had  with  Mr.  Fred  Evans,  prior  to  the  above  account,  two  slates  were 
written  full  with  messages  from  the  father  and  long  deceased  sister  of  the 
gentleman,  and  then  laying  a  slate  upon  the  carpet,  Mr.  Evans  said,  "  I  think 
they  will  give  you  a  message  written  in  colors;  put  your  foot  upon  the  slate." 
When  the  slate  was  lifted  from  the  floor  it  contained  a  letter  written  by  a 
brother  Andrew,  in  the  same  colors,  line  for  line,  as  were  seen  in  the  carpet. 
There  were  no  colored  pencils  to  produce  such  an  effect,  and  if,  as  some 
claim,  It  is  chemicals  on  the  slate,  the  mixture  which  produced  one  shade 
would  destroy  the  other.  No  hand  touched  it  while  it  lay  there.  If  it  was 
not  spirit  power,  pray  what  is  it  ?  Let  some  of  the  wise  ones  enlighten  us  on 
the  subject. 

These  pictures  and  slates  can  be  seen  at  this  office  by  anyone  who  thinks 
he  can  explain  the  mystery  and  tell  what  the  power  is  that  produces  the 
writing  on  the  slates  that  no  human  hand  touches  as  they  lay  upon  the  floor, 
and  why  are  lead  pencil  lines  and  portraits  on  the  paper,  and  a  message 
written  with  a  slate  pencil  upon  the  slate,  at  the  same  time,  while  the  paper  is 
strapped  within  the  two  slates  ?  If  it  is  not  spirit  power,  what  is  it .'  Let 
those  who  can,  explain. 


-v/i/Z^^-^^^/Z/^ 


STANLEY  ST.  CLAIR. 

rT  was  while  experimenting  in  psychographic  writing  with 
Spirit  John  Gray,  that  Spirit  Stanley  St.  Clair  introduced 

himself  to  us,  and  gave  us  as  his  first  experiment  a  good 
likeness  of  D.  D.  Home,  the  correct  autograph  appended 
thereto  being  given,  as  Mr.  Gray  informed  us,  by  Mr.  Home 
himself. 

Spirit  St.  Clair,  in  his  note  upon  the  slate,  says  that  he  has 
given  his  picture  as  he  appeared  on  earth,  thinking  some  of  his 
New  Orleans  friends  may  recognize  him. 

It  is  a  singular  circumstance,  in  these  pictures,  that  the 
psychic's  guide  utilizes  the  margins  of  the  slates  for  messages 
from  himself  and  from  other  spirits.  Thus,  upon  the  slate  we 
present  herewith,  the  reader  will  note  the  words.  ''  See  that 
hand  is  worked  right,  Mr.  O."  That  refers  to  an  experimental 
seance  mentioned  elsewhere,  wherein,  while  sitting  in  the  dark 
with  the  psychic's  hands  joined  with  ours,  a  luminous  spirit 
hand  manipulated  the  pencils  within  the  slates  in  our  hands. 
We  said  to  the  guide  (John  Gray)  at  the  time,  that  we  should 
endeavor  to  have  the  incident  illustrated  for  our  paper.  He 
now,  a  week  later,  charges  us  to  see  that  the  hand  "  is  worked 
right." 

In  our  experiments  with  Mr.  Evans  on  one  occasion,  we 
were  informed  by  John  Gray  that  we  should  have  no  picture  at 
that  time,  as  St.  Clair  was  not  present — "  but,"  he  said,  "  I 
have  seen  how  he  does  it,  and  if  you  wish,  Mr.  Owen,  I  will  try 
and  sketch  your  portrait."  '*  All  right,"  we  replied,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  he  produced,  upon  a  slate  under  our  hands,  a  rough 
sketch  that  could  be  readily  recognized.  It  was  patterned  after 
St.  Clair's  pictures,  but  the  work  was  much  inferior.  ''  How  is 
that,"  he  wrote  under  the  picture,  ''  for  a  first  attempt  ?  " 


94  PSYCHOGRAPHV. 

These  sketches,  as  we  have  frequently  stated,  are  given 
independently,  through  the  mediumship  of  Fred  Evans,  in  the 
full  light,  upon  slates  held  in  our  own  hands,  and  upon  which 
we  kiioiv  positively  there  was  no  previous  preparation,  picture  or 
writing  of  any  kind.  The  writer's  wife  is  generally,  but  not 
always,  present  at  these  experimental  seances,  and  knows,  as 
do  we,  that  they  are  the  production  of  an  independent,  intelli- 
gent occult  power. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  upon  the  margin  of  the  slate  contain- 
ing the  likeness  of  the  artist,  it  is  written  that  the  next  picture 
would  be  the  likeness  of  the  psychic's  well-known  control.  Spirit 
John  Gray,  for  the  appearance  of  which  many  of  his  friends 
are  anxiously  looking. 

The  time  was  appointed  by  the  artist  for  this  seance,  a  fact 
which  we  incidentally  mentioned  to  a  few  persons  who  are 
deeply  interested  in  these  experiments.  We  were  on  hand  as 
per  appointment,  when  it  was  written  upon  the  slates,  over  the 
signature  of  St.  Clair,  that  so  many  minds  were  centered  upon 
the  experiment  for  that  evening  that  it  would  seriously  interfere 
with  the  work,  and  that  he  would  be  obliged  to  defer  the 
attempt  for  a  day  or  two,  whereof  he  would  advise  us.  John 
Gray  also  added  a  few  lines  in  which  he  facetiously  expressed 
his  disappointment  at  not  obtaining  the  likeness. 

We  then  asked  St.  Clair  several  questions  concerning  his 
history,  which  were  promptly  answered  by  telegraphic  raps 
upon  the  table.  He  stated  in  reply  to  our  questions,  that  he 
"passed  on  "  from  New  Orleans  fifteen  years  ago ;  that  he  had 
no  studio  there,  his  work  being  mostly  of  a  private  character  ; 
that  during  the  war  he  was  a  resident  of  Germany,  studying 
his  art;  that  there  were  persons  residing  in  New  Orleans 
who  would  remember  him  ;  that  he  remembered  the  lady  in 
Oakland  who  had  known  him  and  recognized  his  likeness  as 
published  in  the  Golden  Gate,  etc.  We  then  asked  him  if  he 
could  not  vary  the  programme  and  give  us  some  other  picture 


STANLEY    ST.  CLAIK.  95 

a  landscape  sketch,  or  something  that  the  mental  influence  of 
others,  to  which  he  had  referred,  would  not  affect.  He  said, 
if  we  had  time  to  wait,  he  would  try. 

Mr.  Evans  then  took  two  large  slates,  both  of  which  were 
thoroughly  cleaned  and  placed  upon  the  table  under  our  hands. 
After  about  fifteen  minutes,  a  signal  from  the  artist  announced 
the  completion  of  the  work,  when  upon  one  of  the  slates  was 
found  what  St.  Clair  called  a  rough  sketch,  in  colors,  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  old  German  town  where  he  had  resided  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  The  green  of  the  foliage,  the  blue  of  the  water, 
the  background  of  pine  forest,  and  the  red  roof  tiles,  are  all 
there,  constituting  the  most  marvelous  production  by  inde- 
pendent spirit  power  we  have  yet  witnessed.  In  the  fore- 
ground of  the  picture  is  a  wolf,  and  the  artist  informed  us  that 
the  wolves  were  quite  numerous  there,  and  were  frequently 
seen  in  the  streets  of  the  town  where  he  resided. 

On  the  following  day  we  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Evans, 
stating  that  if  we  would  call  at  his  residence  then,  the  artist 
would  give  us  the  promised  picture  of  his  psychographic  con- 
trol, as  no  minds  were  fixed  upon  the  subject  then  to  interfere 
with  his  work.  We  called  at  about  midday,  and  upon  prepar- 
ing the  slates  as  usual,  the  picture,  as  it  appears,  was  produced. 
The  time  occupied  in  its  production  was  not  to  exceed  one 
minute,  and  the  entire  seance  scarcely  lasted  five  minutes. 

St.  Clair  informed  us,  on  one  occasion,  that  he  was 
experimenting  with  a  process  whereby  he  hoped  to  be  able  to 
produce  permanent  pictures  of  mortals  and  spirits  upon  slates. 

At  our  next  seance- for  experimental  work  through  Mr. 
Evans,  the  wife  of  the  writer  was  present.  At  this  seance  we 
obtained  twelve  slates  full  of  messages  and  pictures,  including 
some  very  interesting  work  by  St.  Clair's  new  process.  The 
ariist  was  delighted  with  the  result,  and  says  that  he  will  be 
al)Ie  to  excel,  by  this  process,  all  of  his  fi)nner  efforts  in  spirit 
picture  making. 


OUR  SPIRIT  ARTIST. 
Sketched  by  himself,  independently,  through  the  mediumship   of  Fred  Evans,  upon  the 
surface  of  one  of  a  pair  of  slates  held  in  the  hands  of   Mr.  and  Mrs.  J.  J.  Owen.] 


STANLEY    ST.  CLAIR.  Vl 

Upon  the  under  surface  of  two  slates  placed  upon  the  table, 
which  we  first  held  singly,  edgewise,  between  our  hands,  and 
which  never  for  a  moment  left  our  hands  or  sight,  a  number  of 
pictures  were  produced,  which  seem  to  be  as  permanent  as  the 
material  upon  which  they  appear.  A  space  some  four  inches 
square  in  the  centre  of  each  slate  has  been  subjected  to  some 
glazing  process,  in  which  glazing,  not  upon  its  surface,  the 
pictures  appear  to  be  photographed.  Upon  one  slate  there  are 
four  faces,  and  upon  the  other,  three.  Two  of  the  pictures  on 
each  slate  are  good  likenesses  of  the  writer  and  Mrs.  Owen. 
Then  appear  two  spirit  faces,  one  of  which  is  that  of  John 
Gray,  and  the  other,  which  is  quite  dim,  is  given  as  a  spirit 
sister  of  Mrs.  Owen.  Around  the  edges  of  the  glazed  surfaces 
is  a  number  of  private  messages,  thirteen  in  all,  given  mainly 
in  close  imitation  of  the  writing  of  the  persons  from  whom  they 
purport  to  come. 

Upon  nine  of  the  slates  is  a  private  letter  to  us,  running 
continuously  from  one  slate  to  another,  from  John  Gray. 
He  seemed  to  be  in  the  humor  for  a  friendly  chat.  Speaking 
of  St.  Clair's  work  upon  the  slates,  he  .says :  ''  You 
remember  some  eighteen  months  ago,  he  promised  to  give  you 
pictures  on  slates  prepared  with  some  kind  of  paint  or  varnish. 
Well,  we  have  just  made  the  second  experiment,  and  find  that 
we  shall  soon  improve  on  it.  The  slate  is  first  sensitized  by 
some  process  known  to  St.  Clair,  and  then  the  intended  pictures 
are  photographed  on.  Mortals  can  have  their  pictures  taken 
along  side  of  their  spirit  friends,  just  the  same  as  you  have 
received  to-night.  We  can  have  your  face  reflected  on  the 
clouds,  have  your  spirit  friends  near  it,  and  photograph  them 
both."     It  is  certainly  very  remarkable. 


TESTS  BY    PROXY. 


JIM  G.  ANDERSON,  as  he  always  wrote  his  name,  late 
editor  of  the  Richmond  (Mo.)  Democrat,  now  passed  over 
to  spirit  Hfe,  wrote  to  the  author,  enclosing  a  lock  of  his 
hair,  and  asked  that  we  represent  him — in  a  sitting  with  Mr. 
Evans — in  an  endeavor  to  procure  some  messages  from  his 
spirit  friends.  No  names  were  given,  of  course,  nor  ballots 
enclosed.  He  was  entirely  unknown  to  us,  save  that  he  had 
written  us  once  before  asking  for  an  exchange  of  papers. 
Accompanied  by  Mrs.  Owen,  we  took  the  letter  to  Mr.  Evans, 
and  placed  it  upon  a  pair  of  slates  with  our  four  hands  resting 
thereon,  Mr.  Evans  sitting  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  table 
with  his  hands  unoccupied.  Other  slates  were  placed  upon  the 
table,  and  one  or  two  upon  the  floor.  Four  of  the  slates  were 
written  full.  There  were  five  or  six  messages,  all  signed  by 
names  unknown  to  us.  One  of  the  messages  purported  to 
come  from  the  spirit  father  of  Mr.  Anderson. 

We  forwarded  these  slates  to  Mr.  Anderson,  and  in  due 
time  received  the  following  reply  : 

Richmond,  Mo.,  June  24,  1886. 

Dear  Brother  Owen: — The  slates  have  just  arrived.  In  spite  of  the 
excellent  manner  in  which  you  packed  them  the  slate  on  which  the  colored 
writing  was  done  was  broken.  By  pasting  board  on  the  back  I  have  it  all 
O.  K.  save  a  little  sliver  off  one  side.  The  writing  can  readily  be  read  on  this 
and  all  the  slates.  *  *  *  *  The  test  is  in  the  message  signed  C.  P. 
Anderson,  the  signature  being  as  near  that  of  my  father  as  can  be.  His 
writing  was  peculiar.  It  is  so  pronounced  that  my  foreman,  who  worked  with 
me  when  my  father  did  in  1879-80,  recognized  the  signature  at  once.  The 
names  Mary  and  Elizabeth  are  my  sisters,  but  neither  George  Anderson  nor 
J.  Anderson  is  known,  any  more  than  I  have  a  cousin  and  an  uncle  whose  first 
name  was  J.  or  John.  (Pshaw  !  It  conies  to  me  as  I  write  that  it  is  my 
cousin  Jim  T.  Anderson,  who  was  accidentally  killed  over  a  year  ago.)     My 


mother  may  be  able  to  place  George  Anderson.  I  knew  of  a  prominent  man 
of  that  name  but  did  not  know  him  intimately.  The  message  from  my  father 
is  enough  as  a  test,  and  I  consider  the  result  astonishing  under  the  circum- 
stances. It  is  the  best  I  ever  heard  of  by  proxy.  May  the  angels  bless  you. 
Fraternally,  Ji.%r  G.  Andrrson. 

Thu.s  was  the  proof  to  us  absolutely  conclusive  of  spirit 
existence,  as  it  must  have  been  to  him.  But  now  our  friend 
has  solved  the  problem  for  himself,  and  knows  of  a  verity  that 
there  is  no  death. 

His  successor  on  the  paper  speaks  of  Mr.  Anderson  as 
follows: 

On  account  of  his  peculiar  views  in  regard  to  the  hereafter,  Mr.  Anderson 
had  many  heated  controversies,  and  yet  throughout  them  all  he  demeaned 
himself  as  a  gentleman  should,  never  once  descending  to  degrading  personalities. 
His  was  always  a  warfare  in  the  open  field  and  never  from  ambush.  He  was 
a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of  spirit  communion,  and  who  can  say  he  was 
wrong  ?  He  had  what  he  considered  indisputable  evidence  that  the  spirits  of 
departed  loved  ones  can  and  do  communicate  with  the  living,  and  was  earnest 
and  honest  in  the  belief.  He  died  in  the  belief  that  one  day  his  sjjirit  would 
return  to  cheer  his  grief-stricken  companion  and  aged  and  bedridden  mother. 

The  ''indisputable  evidence"  alluded  to  was  doubtless 
that  furnished  him  by  the  crucial  tests  above  mentioned. 


SPIRIT  CAMELIA. 


Tl  NOTHER  picture  produced  independently  by  Stanley 
^^      St.  Clair,  was  that  of  Spirit  Camelia. 

This  remarkable  picture  was  produced  in  presence  of 
the  writer  and  wife.  It  was  produced  upon  the  under  sur- 
face of  a  single  slate  lying  upon  the  table,  under  Mrs.  Owen's 
hands,  in  full  gaslight,  and  wi.thout  contact  of  the  hands  of 
any  other  person  ;  time,  less  than  two  minutes. 

On  the  inner  surfaces  of  two  other  slates  held  by  the  writer 
at  the  same  time,  was  a  message  from  the  psychic's  guide,  John 
Gray,  in  which  he  says:  "  The  picture  that  St.  Clair  has  given 
you  this  evening  I  want  to  go  in  this  week's  Golden  Gate. 
This  spirit's  name  is  Camelia.  She  will  play  an  important  part  in 
our  intended  spiritual  mission.  We  will  give  you  her  history 
and  the  work  she  will  do  for  you  soon."  We  cheerfully  complied 
with  his  request. 

The  message  concluded  as  follows  :  "  I  will  let  you  know 
about  that  motor  in  a  few  days,  when  I  see  the  engineers." 

In  calling  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  on  that  evening  we 
had  no  intention  of  sitting  for  experimental  work,  our  object 
being  simply  a  friendly  call,  except  that  we  wished  to  submit  to 
the  guide  an  ingenious  device  for  a  wave  motor,  in  the  success 
of  which  we  had,  or  thought  we  might  possibly  have  in  the 
future,  a  vicarious  and  remotely  contingent  interest,  with  the 
request  that  he  obtain  the  opinion  of  some  good  spirit  engineers 
thereon,  as  to  its  practical  working.  (This  he  promised  to  do 
and  has  since  done.) 

St.  Clair  informed  us  that  he  was  preparing  something  of 
far  greater  merit  than  anything  he  had  yet  produced,  whereof 
we  should  be  advised  hereafter. 

These     intelligences,  John  Gray   and    Stanley    St.    Clair, 


SPIRIT  CAMEl.IA. 
[Taken  independently,  through  the  mediumship  of  Kred  p:vans.; 


102  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

are  veritable  entities  to  us.  Our  intercourse  with  them  is  of 
the  most  friendly  and  pleasing  character.  They  are  ever  ready 
to  answer  our  questions,  which  they  do  by  telegraphic  raps  and 
also  by  direct  writing.  They  are  both  able  and  faithful  workers 
for  the  enlightenment  of  humanity. 

Referring  to  the  picture  of  Camelia,  whom  the  guide 
stated  had  come  to  the  psychic's  band  for  the  purpose  of  intro- 
ducing a  negative  element,  which  would  increase  the  power  of 
the  controlling  spirit  to  overcome  strong  positive  conditions  in 
the  presence  of  investigators,  she  promised  at  some  future 
time  to  give  us  a  history  of  her  life,  which  we  herewith  present, 
as  written  independently,  between  closed  slates. 

Brother  L.  L.  Whitlock,  editor  of  The  Soul  magazine, 
of  Boston,  had  written  to  us,  requesting  that  we  represent 
him  in  a  seance  with  Mr.  Evans.  So,  on  the  evening 
named,  we  called  on  Mr.  Evans  for  that  purpose,  and 
also  to  have  a  little  chat  with  his  spirit  manager,  John 
Gray,  and  such  other  friends  as  might  happen  to  be 
present.  Now,  we  hadn't  the  slightest  knowledge  of  Brother 
Whitlock's  spirit  friends,  except  of  some  of  those  who  are  the 
common  property  of  humanity.  His  kindred  are  wholly 
unknown  to  us,  as  we  doubt  not  they  are  to  Mr.  Evans;  and 
yet,  under  our  own  hands  and  eyes,  upon  two  slates  that  we 
know  were  thoroughly  clean,  there  were  placed,  in  a  few- 
minutes'  time,  seventeen  messages,  in  as  many  different  styles 
of  writing,  one  of  which,  of  eleven  lines,  was  written  in  eleven 
different  shades  of  color.  There  was  also  one  fine  picture  of  a 
young  Indian  girl  in  colors,  and  two  small  pencil  heads.  Some 
of  the  messages  are  written  so  fine  that  they  can  be  read  only 
by  the  aid  of  a  magnifier. 

The  under  surfaces  of  four  other  slates  were  written  full, 
under  the  same  test  conditions — two  from  John  Gray  containing 
a  private  message  to  us,  and  two  others — very  large  ones — 
containing  the  following  message  from  Camelia: 


Sl'IKtT    CAMEMA.  103 

Dear  Frienp  of  the  Earth  Plane: — By  the  request  of  Spirit  John 
Gray,  and  with  the  assistance  of  other  kind  spirits,  I  am  enabled  to  give  you 
a  brief  history  of  my  life  when  on  earth,  and  my  transition  to  the  spirit  world, 
also  my  attraction  to  this  medium  and  his  work. 

My  earthly  name  was  Kleoptra.  I  was  born  in  Rome,  in  the  year  1790. 
My  parents  were  of  a  noble  family,  but,  through  strange  manifestations 
occurring  in  our  family,  we  were  shunned  and  abandoned  by  all  our  friends. 
The  priests  claimed  that  some  member  of  our  household  was  possessed  of  the 
Evil  One,  and  if  we  could  discover  which  was  possessed  and  cast  him 
out-doors,  the  rest  of  the  family  would  be  free  from  contamination.  I  was 
then  seventeen  years  old.  The  priest  suggested  that  all  should  leave  the 
house,  so  that  he  could  banish  the  supposed  Evil  One.  But  being  frightened, 
he  abandoned  that  idea,  and  asked  that  we  should  again  enter  the  house,  and 
that  I  should  sit  near  him,  when  suddenly  the  table  that  was  between  us  came 
along  side  me,  and  many  startling  manifestations  did  occur  that  caused 
the  priest  to  declare  that  I  was  possessed  of  the  Evil  One  and  should  die.  My 
father  then,  with  fear  and  trembling,  smote  me  on  the  head  with  a  toul,  [The 
spirit  stated  afterward,  in  answer  to  a  question,  that  a  "  toul  "  was  a  kind  of 
spiked  club  of  small  size. — The  Author.]  and  my  spirit  left  my  body  in  1807 . 

I  have  often  visited  many  friends  on  earth  since  I  left  the  body,  and  as  I 
generally  show  myself  to  them  as  I  appeared  when  on  earth,  I  always  come 
with  a  white  camellia  to  hide  the  mark  of  the  cruel  blow  my  father  struck  me 
through  ignorance  of  spiritual  laws,  for,  as  you  will  see  by  the  above  narrative, 
I  was  being  used  as  a  medium  by  some  departed  friend  when  our  priest 
charged  me  with  being  obsessed  with  the  Evil  One. 

I  became  interested  in  this  medium's  welfare  when  I  found  him  giving 
public  exhibitions  before  large  critical  audiences.  I  could  see  that  certain 
elements  were  lacking  to  make  the  presentation  of  this  phenomenon  a 
comparatively  easy  one.  The  medium's  only  two  guides  are  males,  or  positive 
elements,  whilst  the  committee  picked  to  examine  the  modus  operandi  of  the 
writing  are  always  male  positives  of  the  most  pronounced  type,  thus  making  a 
complete  positive  element  to  overcome.  In  one  of  your  public  meetings  I 
determined  to  introduce  a  female  or  negative  element,  and  you  know  well  the 
results.  The  production  of  the  writing  was  made  easy,  and  all  by  placing  a 
negative  between  two  positives.  This  caused  me  to  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  I  could  become  of  great  use  to  the  medium  and  the  cause  he  demon- 
strates by  becoming  the  negative  guide  between  the  two  positive  guides,  John 
Gray  and  Stanley  St.  Clair. 

I  will  at  an  early  date  give  you,  in  detail,  the  manner  of  the  production 
of  independent  slate-writing,  independent  pictures,  and  other  demonstrations 


104  PSVCHOGRAPHY. 

that  have  occurred  through  this  medium,  Fred  Evans,  and  which  has  interested 
you  and  so  many  readers  of  your  paper.  *  *  *  We  have  been  working 
spiritually  with  this  medium  to  prepare  him  for  work  that  will  bring  him  prom- 
inently before  the  world.  With  kind  regards  to  you  and  your  partner  in  life, 
believe  me  to  remain  your  friend,  and  one  of  the  medium's  guides, 

Cameli.4. 

On  spreading  these  six  slates  out  upon  the  table  we  were 
struck  with  the  large  amount  of  writing  and  drawing  that  had 
been  done  in  so  short  a  time — not  exceeding  twenty  minutes — 
and  we  expressed  the  wish  that  John  Gray  would  give  us  the 
number  of  words  upon  each  slate.  He  did  so  without  a 
moment's  hesitation,  naming  the  number  upon  each  slate,  and 
then  giving  the  total  as  1,582,  and  in  less  time  than  it  has  taken 
us  to  write  this  sentence.  We  afterwards  counted  the  words 
upon  two  of  these  slates  and  found  the  number  to  correspond 
with  that  given  by  the  spirit. 

Can  any  one  explain  the  system  of  computation  whereby 
such  marvelous  results  are  obtained?  It  evidently  shows  a 
power  of  comprehension  to  which  we  mortals  are  strangers, 
although  there  are  a  few  instances  on  record — as  in  the  case  of 
the  "  Lightning  Calculator" — where  similar  powers  have  been 
manifested  by  mortals. 

Truly  the  field  opens  and  the  vision  broadens,  as  we 
explore  the  realm  of  spiritual  things. 


^Wf¥S^ 


AN    INTERESTING    EXPERIMENT. 


[From  ■/■/u-So,,/,  Hostun,  February,  i88S.] 

BOR  a  long  time  we  have  been  very  much  interested  in  the  accounts  of 
independent  drawings  and  writings   that  have  been  published    in    the 
Golden   Gate,  of   Snn  I'tjik  isr -.,  (':il.       Thr  ij  h:ivc   shown   great   spirit   power 


through  the  line  |juuci>  ol  Mi.  1  i^d  E\,ul.^,  ami  <.iiici[)nbc  ai 
receive  on  the  part  of  our  esteemed  friend  and  co-laborer,  Mr. 
the  editor  of  the  above-named  valuable  journal. 

Some  weeks  ago  we  asked  Mr.  Owen  if  he  would  conduct  a  seance  with 
Mr.  Evans  for  The  Soul.     The  following  letter  sufficiently  explains: — 


106  PSVCHOGKAPHV. 

San  FraN'Cisco,  Cai..,  December  23,  1887. 
Brother  Whitlock  :— In  response  to  your  request,  I  represented  you  with  Fred 
Evans  last  evening,  and  obtained  for  you  two  very  nice  slates — with  picture,  colored  writing, 
and  some  seventeen  messages.  I  see  several  of  your  name,  but  whether  the  Christian  names 
are  correct  or  not  neither  Mr.  Evans  nor  myself  has  any  means  of  knowing.  I  know  that 
whatever  appears  upon  the  slates  was  put  there  by  an  occult  power.  The  slates  were 
thoroughly  cleansed,  and  from  first  to  last  were  under  my  own  hands  and  sight.  I  obtained  in 
addition  four  slates  for  myself,  mostly  of  a  private  character,  but  of  which  I  shall  speak  in  my 
next  issue.  Should  you  have  either  of  the  slates  engraved  for  The  Soul,  please  send  me  an 
electrotype  for  the  Golden  Gate.  Yovi  will  see  that  "Johnny"  gives  me  credit  for  the  force  that 
enabled  him  to  produce  such  fine  results.  I  do  not  think  I  deserve  it,  although  I  think  he  can 
do  better  with  than  without  me.     Fraternally  yours,  J.  J.  Owen. 

Otir  illustration,  without  the  colors,  shows  imperfectly  the  picture  drawn 
upon  the  slates.  The  flesh  tint  is  as  perfect  as  possible,  and  the  dress  is  in 
several  colors.  We  do  not  recognize  the  Indian  maiden,  but  hope  she  will  in 
some  way  identify  herself. 

H.  Whitlock  is  a  brother  who  passed  to  spirit  life  about  forty  years  ago, 
when  a  small  child.  We  occasionally  hear  from  him,  and  believe  he  could 
not  have  been  known  to  any  person  present.  The  others  of  our  name, 
especially  father  and  sister,  are  recognized. 

SLATE  ILLUSTRATED. 

The  spirit  of  Owaseka  is  here,  and  sends  love  to  his  medium,  Squaw  Whitlock. 

I  have  come  by  request  to  write  a  few  lines  for  you,  to  tender  you  my  best  wishes  for 
your  future  success,  and  to  promise  you  my  every  aid.  I  am  always  pleased  to  add  another 
item  to  the  truth  of  spirit  return.  Be.njamin  Rush. 

I  am  here,  and  will  soon  come  to  you  at  your  home  and  manifest  there.     From 

Brother  Robert. 

You  have  my  best  wishes  in  your  endeavor  to  publish  to  the  world  the  "facts"  of 
spiritual  phenomena,  for  it  will  appeal  to  the  "  souls  "  of  all  beings  who  aspire  to  better  their 
future  and  to  know  of  an  immortal  future.    This  from  William  Denton. 

My  Dear  Old  Friend: — I  am  going  to  give  you  my  every  aid  to  further  your  work 
for  the  advancement  of  spiritual  phenomena,  and  make  the  prediction  that  you  will  change  the 
form  of  your  magazine  in  the  future  to  one  of  more  importance,  and  will  be  satisfied  of  the 
result  of  your  work  in  a  few  months.  Judge  Edmond. 

I  have  come  to  bear  my  testimony  to  the  truth  of  spirit  return.    Robert  Hare,  M.  D. 

Baby  Helen  is  here.     Also  Charles  and  H. 

I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  but  absent  in  body.  James. 

The  spirit  of  St.  Clair  has  given  this  as  an  exhibition  of  his  work.  St.  Clair. 

Friend  Whitlock:— At  the  request  of  our  medium,  Fred  Evans,  we  have  brought 
together  numerous  spirits,  who  have  kindly  given  their  best  assistance  for  the  production  of  this 
slate  for  the  benefit  of  The  Soul.  We  must  thank  J.  J.  Owen,  editor  of  the  Golden  Gate,  for 
acting  as  proxy  for  you,  and  thus  furnishing  the  necessary  forces  for  the  production  of  this  slate. 

John  Gray. 


AN     INTERES'llNG    EXI'EKIMKNT. 


107 


I  have  come  i 


SIXOND  SLATE. 
I  give  you  these  few  lines  as  a  test  of  spirit  | 


This  from  the  spirit  of 

H.    VVltlTLOCK. 

[This  message  was  written  in  eleven  colors. — Ed.] 

My  Dear  Son  Lewis:— It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  respond  to  the  medium's  invitation, 
given  to  me  and  other  spirit  friends,  to  come  and  write  a  few  lines  to  you,  although  it  is 
difTicult  for  us  to  come  through  a  strange  medium  without  you  or  any  other  member  of  our 
family  to  attract  us  j  yet  we  have  succeeded  in  establishing  the  fact  that  spirits  can  and  do 
operate  without  the  well-worn  plea  of  mind -reading,  and  that  we  can  communicate  without  the 
presence  of  our  friends,  and,  under  conditions  that  need  an  independent,  intelligent  force,  aside 
from  the  medium  or  sitter,  write  other  messages  to  you  tlirough  this  medium  in  the  near  future. 
Give  my  kind  love  to  all  the  folks  at  home,  and  believe  me  to  remain  the  happy  spirit  of  your 
loving  father,  Gr.oRGE  Clinton  Whitlock. 

I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  and  am  pleased  to  write  these  few  lines  to  you. 

E.  WmixocK. 

.My  Dkar  Bkother  Lewis:— I  am  much  pleased  to  be  able  to  write  a  few  lines  for 
you.  We  will  have  more  to  say  to  you  soon  through  this  medium,  and  will  soon  give  you  infor- 
mation that  will  assist  you  to  carry  out  your  work  to  better  advantage.  Give  my  love  to  your 
wife  and  mother,  also  to  my  niece,  who  will  soon  make  a  good  medium.  This  from  your 
loving  sister,  Sarah  Whitlock. 

I  am  glad  to  come  back  and  prove  to  you  that  I  still  live.  Howard  Henry. 

The  spirit  of  John  Gray  is  here,  and  he  sends  Iwst  wishes  to  Mr.  L.  L.  Whitlock. 

John  Gray. 


""^^^Xs\^^^.^  *' 


SPIRIT  JOHN  GRAY. 

[A  brief  sketch  of  his  life  written  by  himself,  independently,  within  closed  slates.] 

rWAS  born  in  London,  England,  June  lo,  1816,  and  com- 
menced a  seafaring  life  in  December,  1830.     After  making 

many  voyages  and  experiencing  two  shipwrecks,  I  returned 
to  London  in  1835.  ^  ^^hen  began  to  experience  strange  visita- 
tions, which,  of  course,  I  know  now  to  have  been  from  the  spirit 
world,  and  who  advised  me  to  ship  at  once  for  America.  So 
on  the  seventeenth  of  August,  1835,  I  shipped  on  the  ship 
"  Chevey  Chase,"  bound  for  New  York,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Roberts.  August  30th  found  us  leaving  West  End 
Dock  for  New  York,  at  which  place  we  arrived  December 
25,  1835.  I  secretly  left  the  vessel  on  its  arrival,  and  kept 
away  untilshe  left  New  York  homeward  bound.  1  then  applied 
for  and  was  received  as  Coast  Guardsman. 

My  duties  often  gave  me  time  and  opportunity  to  converse 
with  my  (then)  invisible  spirit  friends,  who  used  to  rap  on  the 
rocks  on  the  beach  during  my  patrol,  in  answer  to  my  questions 
of  inquiry,  often  foretelling  events  that  were  to  happen,  such  as 
shipwrecks,  seizures,  etc.;  and  I  in  turn  would  warn  my  mates, 
until  they  began  to  regard  me  as  the  Evil  One  when  they  saw 
these  prophecies  fulfilled. 

John  King  often  materialized  for  me  when  going  my 
nightly  rounds  on  the  beach,  and  told  me  I  had  not  long  to  stay 
on  the  earth  plane,  but  had  a  great  work  to  do  in  the  spirit 
world.  His  prophecy  came  to  pass  October  27,  1837,  when 
the  bark  ''Espray"  was  wrecked  off  the  coast,  and  in 
attempting  to  save  her  crew  I  was  drowned,  and  thus  came  to 
the  spirit  world  in  all  the  health  and  vigor  of  manhood  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  four  months,  and  seventeen  days,  but 
with  the  knowledge  of  a  new  home  in  store  for  me. 


110  P.SYCHOt;KAPHY. 

After  meeting  many  old  friends  wlio  had  crossed  the  river 
before  me,  and  who  kindly  assisted  me  to  understand  the  work- 
ings of  my  new  quarters,  I  commenced  to  control  various 
mediums,  moving  my  influence  from  one  to  another,  as  I  found 
their  moral,  mental,  and  physical  conditions  more  suited  to  aid 
me  in  demonstrating,  beyond  a  doubt,  the  existence  of  spiritual 
beings  who  once  inhabited  the  earth  plane,  until  I  found  my 
present  medium,  Fred  Evans,  whose  past  life  resembled  my 
own  when  on  earth,  inasmuch  as  he  has  followed  the  sea  and  has 
met  with  many  of  the  same  experiences  that  I  passed  through. 
I  impressed  him  to  come  to  California  so  that  I  could  demon- 
strate through  him,  knowing  that  this  was  a  good  field  to  spread 
the  knowledge  of  spirit  return. 

I  have  found  my  medium  best  suited  morally,  mentally  and 
physically,  to  carry  out  my  work  through  him  of  enlightening 
humanity,  and  I  hope  for  greater  things  in  the  near  future  that 
will  enable  me  to  place  spirit  phenomena  before  your  skeptical 
world  in  such  a  manner  as  to  convince  the  most  skeptical 
inquirer  (if  he  is  only  honest  to  himself)  that  these  manifesta- 
tions come  from  the  source  claimed  for  them. 

I  must  now  thank  J.  J.  Owen,  of  the  Golden  Gate^  for  his 
honest  and  earnest  endeavors  to  place  before  the  world  the 
facts  Tiwd proofs  of  spirit  phenomena  that  have  come  under  his 
notice  during  his  investigations  with  my  medium,  and  also  to 
the  many  spiritual  and  secular  papers  that  have  recounted  their 
experiences  and  re-published  in  their  columns  that  witnessed  by 
their  contemporaries,  for  they  have  all  united  in  spreading  this 
knowledge  of  spirit  return  and  causing  those  who  are  in  dark- 
ness to  seek  the  light.  With  the  happy  knowledge  that  I  will 
one  day  meet  you  ail  and  welcome  you  to  the  spirit  side  of  life, 
I  remain  your  co-worker  in  spirit,  John   Gkav. 


REMARKABLE   EXPERIENCE. 
A  RECEIPT  CARRIED  1300  MILES  BYSPIRITS. 

BURING  Mr.  Evans'  sojourn  in  Melbourne,  the  following 
remarkable  phenomenon  occurred :  About  eleven  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  April  20,  1889,  Mr.  Evans  placed  two 
slates  together  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  his  guide,  John 
Gray,  on  some  matters  of  importance.  After  the  writing  had 
ceased,  Mr.  Evans  opened  the  slates  and  was  surprised  to  see 
lying  on  the  lower  slate  a  printed  slip  with  writing  upon  it. 
On  examination  it  proved  to  be  a  receipt  for  an  amount  paid  by 
Alexander  Costello  for  examination  on  his  legal  qualifications 
for  admission  to  the  Queensland  Bar.  On  the  slate  was  found 
written  the  following  explanatory  message : 

Dear  Fred: — Enclosed  in  these  slates  you  will  find  a  receipt  belonging 
to  Alexander  Costello.  I  took  it  from  his  study  in  Merton  Road,  South 
Brisbane,  as  a  test  of  spirit  power,  and  I  now  desire  you  to  forward  the  receipt 
to  Mr.  Costello,  detailing  the  circumstances.      Your  guide, 

John  Gray. 

Mr.  Evans  immediately  forwarded  the  receipt  and  explana- 
tion to  Mr.  Costello,  and,  on  April  27th,  received  the  following 
letter: 

Mf.rton  Road,  South  Brisbane,  April  25,  1889. 

Dear  Mr.  Evans: — It  was  as  great  a  surprise  to  me  as  it  was  to  you 
when  I  opened  your  letter,  and  found  the  receipt  for  the  examination  fee 
within  it.  Strange  that  I  was  thinking  about  the  paper  only  a  few  days  ago, 
and  the  advisability  of  having  it  should  it  be  wanted.  Have  shown  your 
letter  to  Mr.  Widdop  (Justice  of  the  Peace),  and  he  requested  me  to  ask 
John  Gray  (through  you)  how  the  phenomenon  occurred.  *  *  *  i  have 
been  doing  my  best  to  think  over  the  matter,  and  am  inclined  to  think  that  the 
last  time  I  saw  the  paper  was  in  my  study,  and  thai — since  you  left  for 
Melbourne.  *  *  *  I  have  no  doubt  whatever  in  my  own  mind  that  our 
unseen  friend  took  the  paper  to  Melbourne  only  a  short  time  ago.  *  *  * 
Yours  sincerely,  Alexander  Costello. 


112  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

Here  was  a  piece  of  paper,  measuring  about  3x6  inches — 
surreptitiously  removed  from  a  desk  in  the  private  room  of  a 
gentleman  in  Brisbane,  and  carried  by  Spirit  John  Gray  to 
Melbourne  and  there  deposited  between  closed  slates,  proving 
conclusively  the  power  of  spirits  over  matter.  The  distance 
between  the  place  the  paper  was  removed  from  and  deposited 
in  is  about  1300  miles.  Mr.  Evans  had  never  been  in  Mr. 
Costello's  house,  and  had  not  been  within  1000  miles  of  Brisbane 
for  over  three  months  and  a  half. 


^•^J^ 


SPIRIT  JOSEPHINE. 

EXPERIMENTS  in  any  phase  of  psychic  phenomena,  to 
be  of  value  to  the  world,  must  be  had  under  what  is 
termed  ''test  conditions."  To  Spiritualists,  who  need 
no  such  conditions — especially  when  sitting  with  psychics  whom 
they  have  once  tested  and  know  to  be  genuine — the  manifesta- 
tions may  be,  and  often  are,  of  the  most  marvelous  character. 
But  while  true  and  unquestioned-  by  themselves,  or  others  who 
are  familiar  with  like  manifestations,  the  recital  thereof  has  but 
little,  if  any,  weight  with  the  skeptical  world,  who  are  ever 
ready  to  attribute  our  phenomena  to  any  and  everything  except 
the  true  cause. 

Hence  it  is  that  in  our  experiments  and  investigations  in 
psychography,  or  independent  slate-writing,  we  have  ever  aimed 
to  present  only  such  facts  as  we  knezu  to  be  true.  The  various 
illustrations  we  have  given  have,  with  but  few  exceptions,  been 
of  this  character. 

Of  this  character,  also,  is  the  likeness  appearing  in  this 
connection  as  Josephine,  the  beautiful  spirit  sister  of  Mrs.  Mattie 
P.  Owen.  This  spirit  passed  to  the  higher  life  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  in  the  bright  dawn  of  a  beautiful  and  useful 
womanhood.  In  her  earth-life  she  possessed  rare  graces  of 
body  and  mind,  and  is  now  a  radiant  presence  among  the 
shining  ones  who  are  our  constant  companions  and  co-workers 
in  behalf  of  humanity,  and  in  unfolding  the  grand  truths  of 
spirit  existence. 

Josephine  first  made  her  presence  known  to  us  while  we 
were  sojourning  in  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  during  the  winter 
of  i885-'86.  Seeing  a  notice  of  a  psychic  for  independent 
slate-writing  in  one  of  the  city  papers,  the  writer  dropped  in   at 


1 1  4  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

his  rooms  one  day  and  requested  a  seance.  We  were  soon 
convinced  that  the  medium  was  a  genuine  psychographist,  as 
we  received  messages,  written  independently,  from  two  persons 
whom  we  knew  well  in  earth-life,  and  in  the/«^  simile  of  their 
hand-writing.  The  psychic  then  said  that  there  was  the  spirit 
of  a  beautiful  young  lady  present  who  wished  to  send  a  message 
to  the  wife  of  the  writer.  We  asked  him  how  he  knew  he  had 
a  wife.  He  replied  that  that  was  what  he  understood  the 
spirit  to  say.  He  then  placed  a  pair  of  slates  in  a  chair  some 
three  feet  distant  from  where  we  were  sitting,  when  soon  along 
message  appeared  within,  beautifully  written,  addressed  to 
''  My  Dear  Sister,"  and  signed  affectionately,  "  Josephine." 
In  this  message  was  given  the  name  of  another  of  Mrs.  Owen's 
sisters  in  spirit-life,  and  also  the  full  names  of  two  friends  of  the 
writer.  Since  then  Josephine  has  been  a  constant  companion 
and  friend,  manifesting  herself  to  us  frequently. 

The  picture  we  present  herewith  was  obtained  at  an 
experimental  seance  held  with  Fred  Evans,  the  writer  and  his 
wife  being  the  only  mortals  present  besides  the  psychic.  A 
single  slate,  upon  which  we  knew  there  was  no  trace  or  device, 
was  placed  upon  the  table,  with  a  small  bit  of  lead,  and  also  of 
slate  pencil  beneath.  No  hand  touched  the  slate  except  that  of 
Mrs.  Owen.  In  less  than  five  minutes  raps  upon  the  slate 
indicated  that  the  work  was  finished. 

The  artist,  Spirit  Stanley  St.  Clair,  then  wrote  upon 
another  slate,  under  our  own  hands,  saying  that  if  we  would 
give  him  a  larger  slate  he  would  take  another  picture  in  a 
different  style,  and  then  we  could  judge  which  was  the  better. 
The  slates  were  furnished,  and  in  a  few  minutes  another  picture 
appeared,  but  we  did  not  think  it  equal  in  merit  to  the  first. 

A  significant  fact  in  connection  with  the  picture  we  present, 
is,  that  at  a  seance  held  in  our  own  home  on  the  afternoon 
preceding  the  seance  with  Mr.  Evans,  Mrs.  Owen  and  a  lady 
friend  being  the  only  persons   present,  the  question  was  asked 


..M-^Cjj^  ^4.^./^^^ 


[The   likeness,    as  she   appears   in  spirit  life,  of  a  bcaiilifvil  young  sister  of  Mrs.  Mattie 

Owen.     The  picture,  of  which  the  above  is  a  copy,  was  taken  through  the  mediumship 

of  Fred  Evans,  in  the  presence  of  the  writer,  upon  the  under  surface  of  a 

single  slate  placed  upon  a  table  in  full  light,  and  under  Mrs. 

Owen's  hands.     Time,  about  five  minutes.] 


110  PSYCHOGRAPHV. 

as  to  what  would  be  the  nature  of  the  manifestations  at  the 
evening's  experimental  seance.  The  answer  was  spelled  out 
that  a  likeness  of  Josephine  would  be  given.  This  fact  was 
carefully  withheld  from  Mr.  Evans. 

No  mere  wood  engraving,  which  only  presents  the  lights 
and  shades  of  a  picture,  can  do  the  subject  justice.  The  color 
of  the  eyes,  the  delicate  tints  of  the  lips  and  cheek,  and  portions 
of  the  drapery,  are  of  course  omitted.  The  artist  invariably 
furnishes  his  own  colors,  and  applies  them  with  excellent  taste 
and  skill. 

As  to  the  fact  of  the  picture  being  produced  by  independent 
spirit  power,  we  simply  knozv  it  to  be  true.  Of  course  there  are 
those  who  think  we  are  the  victims  of  deception.  We  can  not 
blame  them.  These  modern  revelations  of  psychic  power  are 
too  much  for  the  unschooled  comprehension. 

At  a  subsequent  seance  with  Fred  Evans,  we  received  the 
following  communication  from  Josephine,  written  on  the  two 
inner  surfaces  of  a  pair  of  slates  held  in  our  own  hands,  explain- 
ing the  symbol  of  the  seven  stars  seen  upon  her  head.  [We 
may  add  that  Mrs.  Owen  had  left  by  steamer  on  the  afternoon 
of  that  day  for  San  Diego,  a  fact  of  which  the  psychic,  until  the 
moment  of  sitting,  had  no  knowledge  ;  hence,  Josephine's  refer- 
ence to  her  departure  is  positive  proof  that  there  could  have 
been  no  previous  preparation  of  the  slates.]  The  message 
reads  as  follows : 

Good  evening,  Brother  James.  I  see  that  Mattie  has  gone  for  a  little 
trip.  But  you  know  that  I  am  very  happy  to  see  you  have  come  here  this 
evening.  Mr.  Gray  requests  me  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  seven  stars  that 
you  see  in  my  hair  represented  on  the  picture.  Well,  I  will  tell  you  :  I  belong 
to  a  band  of  spirits  who  act  as  missionaries  to  aid  and  uplift  the  fallen  and 
assist  them  to  a  higher  sphere.  The  number  of  stars  designates  the  zeal  and 
development  we  have  made  in  our  particular  work.  You  see  I  have  progressed 
sufficiently  to  be  awarded  the  seventh  star.  All  spirits  belonging  to  this  order 
wear  a  star,  so  that  they  are  recognized  when  manifesting  anywhere.  I  am 
glad  that  you  are  both  pleased  with  my  picture.      Mr.  St.  Clair  says  that  he 


117 


will  give  you  a  paper  proof  in  a  little  time,  but  not  to-night.  You  can  give 
my  love  to  dear  Mattie,  and  tell  her  you  are  going  to  meet  with  a  very 
pleasant  surprise  soon.  I  see  that  you  and  the  medium  are  going  to  do  some 
good  work  in  a  little  time,  when  John  Gray  is  ready.     This  from  loving 

Josephine. 


ST.  CLAIR'S  PICTURE  OF  SHAKESPEARE. 

PMONG  the  many  pictures  we  have  obtained  through  Mr, 
Evans,  that  of  Shakespeare,  given  in  this  connection,  we 
regard  as  one  of  the  best.  That  it  was  produced  inde- 
pendently, through  Fred  Evans,  on  the  under  surface  of  a  single 
slate,  placed  upon  the  table  in  plain  sight,  and  under  other  hands 
than  those  of  Mr.  Evans,  we  do  know — if  we  know  anything. 
Hon.  1.  C.  Steele,  of  Pescadero,  President  of  the  Grangers' 
Bank,  San  Francisco,  who  was  also  present,  will  bear  witness 
to  the  fact  here  stated.  It  was  taken  at  the  time  that  Ignatius 
Donnelly  was  claiming  that  Bacon  was  the  author  of  Shake- 
speare's plays. 

The  seance  was  held  at  the  request  of  the  writer,  for  the 
benefit  of  Mr.  Steele.  We  each  of  us  held  a  single  slate  edge- 
wise upon  the  table  for  a  few  moments,  between  the  palms  of 
the  two  hands,  and  then  placed  the  slates  down  with  our  hands 
resting  thereon.  Other  slates  were  placed  upon  the  floor.  In 
a  few  minutes  there  appeared  upon  the  under  surface  of  our 
own  slate  the  following  message: 

Through  the  solicitation  of  John  Gray  I  have  permitted  my  picture  to 
be  given  you,  which  is  a  correct  representation  of  myself  as  I  appeared  when 
on  earth.  I  am  sorry  to  see  that  many  are  now  debating  as  to  the  true 
authorship  of  certain  worlds  that  were  credited  to  me.  I  wish  to  mention  the 
fact  that  Lord  Bacon  ought  to  be  credited  with  an  half  interest  in  all  the 
works  attributed  to  me,  for  he  was  my  main  help  and  adviser  in  all  my  labors. 
Yours  in  spirit,  William  Shakespeare. 

Upon  the  under  surface  of  the  slate  held  by  Mr.  Steele 
appeared  the  picture  of  Shakespeare,  as  our  engraver  has 
reproduced  it,  in  all  except  the  coloring  (in  the  original  the 
coat  is  a  light  green)  and  the  name  of  the  spirit  artist,  St. 
Clair,  which  appears  upon  the  collar. 


OCCULT  ART. 
ntly,    through    the 
,„uu,u..=,  ..,.-.-)  a  slate  held  in  the 
of  Pescadero,  and  in  presence  of  the  author. J 


,This   picture    was  _|aUe^in.|^en^U>.^^th.u^^^  ^'^  ^^^    -^< 


rZO  PSVCHOGRAPHV. 

Here  is  a  significant  point  which  we  ask  the  skeptical 
reader  to  notice.  There  are  many  who  think  that  these  slate 
pictures,  together  with  the  written  messages,  are  prepared  in 
advance,  and  that  by  some  smart  jugglery  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Evans,  the  slates  are  changed  in  our  hands.  Now,  upon 
taking  up  the  slate  containing  this  picture  of  Shakespeare,  we 
noticed  that  the  artist  had  omitted  the  usual  imprint  of  his 
name.  We  asked  him  why  he  had  done  so.  He  immediately 
replied,  by  telegraphic  raps,  that  John  Gray  had  directed  us 
to  take  up  the  slate  a  little  too  soon — that  he  (the  artist)  was 
not  quite  ready  for  us.  We  replaced  the  slate,  with  a  small  bit 
of  lead  pencil  under  it,  and  the  name  was  immediately  written 
upon  the  collar,  as  seen  in  the  picture  ! 

Mr.  Steele  also  received  a  fine  picture  of  a  beautiful  little 
girl  who  claimed  to  be  his  niece  who  died  in  infancy.  Upon 
another  slate  he  received  nine  messages  in  different  hand- 
writings, and  all  signed  with  the  names  of  nine  of  his  spirit 
friends  and  relatives.  Taking  another  slate  and  wrapping  it  in 
a  pocket  handkerchief,  he  held  it  aloof  from  the  table  for  a  few 
minutes,  when  there  appeared  a  message  upon  it  in  some  six  or 
eight  bright  colors,  signed  by  the  name  of  a  brother-in-law 
of  Mr.  Steele,  Selden  J.  Finney. 

We  doubt  very  much  if  Mr.  Evans  is  familiar  with  the 
claim  set  up  by  Ignatius  Donnelly  and  others  that  Lord  Bacon, 
and  not  Shakespeare,  was  the  author  of  the  plays  attributed  to 
the  latter.  If  he  is,  it  makes  no  difference  as  to  the  fact  of  the 
writing  in  the  manner  stated.  We  give  the  message  for  what 
it  is  worth.  As  to  the  picture  and  the  manner  of  its  production, 
together  with  the  other  picture  and  messages,  we  claim  for 
them  that  they  were  produced  by  independent  spirit  power. 
If  we  do  not  knoiv  this,  our  three  senses  of  sight,  hearing  and 
feeling  are  positively  worth  nothing  to  us. 


A  SPIRIT  INDIAN  MAIDEN. 


'HE  spirit  picture  of  the  Indian  maiden,  whose  name  is 
withheld,  is  one  of  the  guides  of  a  private  medium  now 
retired  from  public  work.  The  guide  is  bright,  beautiful, 
vivacious,  witty,  and  very  interesting.  Her  utterances  abound 
in  wise  sayings,  for  which  she  takes  no  credit  to  herself,  but 
always  attributes  them  to  her  teacher,  who  is  also  a  guide  of 
the  same  medium,  and  is  a  spirit  of  great  intelligence. 

This  spirit  passed  to  spirit-life  in  infancy,  many  years  ago. 
She  was  partly  of  Indian  parentage,  her  mother  being  a  princess 
of  her  tribe.  She  always  presents  herself  as  a  lively  little 
maiden,  full  of  sunshine. 

The  picture  was  taken  through  the  mediumship  of  Mr. 
Fred  Evans.  It  was  taken  in  the  presence  of  the  author  and 
his  wife,  and  in  the  following  manner :  Three  slates  were  first 
thoroughly  cleaned  with  a  damp  sponge  and  wiped  dry.  One 
of  these  slates  was  placed  upon  the  floor,  in  plain  sight,  and 
Mrs.  Owen  was  requested  by  Mr.  Evans  to  place  a  foot  upon 
it,  which  she  did.  The  others  were  under  our  two  pair  of 
hands  upon  the  table,  Mr.  Evans  sitting  unconcernedly  upon 
the  opposite  side  of  the  table,  and  fully  four  feet  from  where  the 
slate  lay  upon  the  floor.  Subsequently,  and  while  the  work  was 
progressing,  another  slate  was  placed  upon  the  floor  by  the  side 
of  the  former. 

We  were  not  really  expecting  a  picture  of  this  spirit  at  this 
time;  in  fact,  the  spirit  artist  had  intimated  to  us  the  Sunday 
previous  that  it  would  probably  be  two  weeks  before  he  again 
attempted  it.  In  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  seance  the  familiar  raps  signaled  that  the  work  was 
finished.     On  raising  the  slates  from  the  floor  it  was  found  that 


A    SPIRIT    INDIAN     MAIDKN.  \.Z6 

upon  the  under  side  of  the  one  upon  which  the  foot  rested  was 
the  picture  as  seen  in  our  engraving.  On  the  under  side  of  the 
other  was  the  following  message  from  the  artist ; 

To  Mr.  Ow^ti— Dear  Frie/id.—At  the  request  of  John  Gray  I  take 
this  mode  of  introducing  myself  to  you,  and  also  to  our  worthy  medium.     As 

you  will  see,  I  have  taken  the  picture  of  the  Indian  maiden,  .     This  spirit 

is  of  such  a  lively  temperament  as  to  make  it  e.xtremely  difficult  to  give  a 
correct  picture  of  her.  But  she  has  robed  herself  to  her  own  satisfaction,  and 
has  expressed  herself  as  being  pleased  with  her  picture,  and  also  states  that 
her  medium  will  be  much  delighted  with  the  results  of  this  sitting.  When  I 
become  more  accustomed  to  the  control  of  this  medium,  and  with  the  assist- 
ance of  his  powerful  guides,  I  will  endeavor  to  give  you  some  very  good  mani- 
festations, which  will  reflect  much  credit  on  the  medium  and  yourself.  1  have 
come  to  stay  with  this  medium,  conditions  permitting.  With  best  wishes  to 
all,  I  remain  yours  in  spirit,  Stanley  St.  Clair. 

On  the  under  side  of  one  of  the  slates  upon  the  table  was 
a  friendly  message  to  the  writer  from  Mr.  Evans' psychographic 
control,  Spirit  John  Gray,  written  in  his  usual  crisp  and  ready 
manner. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  the  little  Indian  maiden  repre- 
sented in  the  picture,  wholly  unknown  to  Mr.  Evans  or  to  us, 
had,  on  Saturday  evening  previous,  informed  her  medium  that 
the  artist  would  sketch  her  likeness  at  our  seance  on  the 
following  day. 

As  to  the  fact  of  the  messages  and  the  picture  being  pro- 
duced as  stated,  by  occult  or  spirit  power,  there  is  not  an  intel- 
ligent person  in  the  universe,  with  the  same  opportunity  for 
observation  as  ourselves,  who  would  question  it  for  a  moment. 

The  spirit  picture  of  Professor  Denton,  like  most  of  the 
pictures  presented  in  this  volume,  was  taken  under  our  own 
hands,  without  the  possibility  of  deception.  In  fact,  it  is  an 
insult  to  common  sense  to  imagine  that  such  things  can  be  done 
in  the  broad  light  of  day,  and  under  one's  own  eyes  and  hands, 
in  any  other  manner  than  that  claimed  for  them. 

Of  course  no  very  fine  work  can  be  expected  upon  a  slate 
and  with  the  materials  used.     But  this  of  Professor  Denton  is 


124  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

surely  an   excellent   likeness    and    a    very   creditable    piece  of 
work. 

The  reader  will  understand  that  the  background  for  the 
picture  is  made  by  whitening  the  surface  of  the  slate  with  a  bit 
of  slate  pencil,  placed  under  a  single  slate  upon  a  table,  or 
between  a  pair  of  slates,  after  which  the  likeness  is  produced 
with  a  lead  pencil  placed  in  the  same  manner.  The  work  is  all 
done  by  the  spirit  artist. 

The  messages  in  the  margins  are  doubtless  from  those 
from  whom  they  purport  to  come.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
Indian  Jim,  a  spirit  that  occasionally  comes  to  Mr.  Evans, 
has  given  us  a  profile  of  his  not  particularly  handsome  face. 

A  somewhat  striking  test  concerning  the  production  of  this 
picture  is  worthy  of  mention.  While  Spirit  St.  Clair  was  at 
work  upon  it,  we  asked  Spirit  John  Gray  what  the  picture  was 
to  be.  He  replied  that  the  artist  was  complying  with  a  wish  of 
the  wife  of  the  writer,  who  was  not  present,  and  whose  wishes 
in  the  matter  were  unknown,  both  to  us  and  to  Mr.  Evans. 
''  What  is  that  ? "  we  asked  ;  but  the  spirit  pleasantly  evaded  an 
answer.  On  meeting  Mrs.  Owen  an  hour  later  we  inquired 
what  wish  she  had  entertained  with  regard  to  the  expected 
picture.  She  replied  that  she  had  desired  that  we  might  obtain 
a  likeness  of  Professor  Denton  !     And  there  it  was. 

The  spirit  pictures  which  we  have  given  in  this  volume, 
produced,  as  we  claim,  by  independent  spirit  power,  through 
Mr.  Fred  Evans,  are  worthy  of  the  most  serious  consideration 
of  scientists. 

The  pictures  are  all  of  persons  who  have  passed  to  spirit 
life,  and  as  they  appeared  in  mortal  life.  No  high  art  is 
claimed  for  them;  and  yet,  as  slate  pencil  sketches,  considering 
the  brief  time  and  peculiar  manner  in  which  they  are  produced, 
they  are  certainly  excellent.  That  this  development  will  lead 
to  a  higher  order  of  art,  we  have  no  doubt. 

The   picture  of  Dr.  Benjamin    Rush  was  produced  upon 


126  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

a  slate  which  was  first  thoroughly  washed  and  dried  by  a 
committee  chosen  by  a  public  audience  at  the  theatre  in  San 
Diego,  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  Mr.  Evans  and  the 
writer  to  that  city.  That  it  is  a  good  likeness  of  the  eminent 
physician,  no  one  familiar  with  his  features  will  deny. 

A  peculiarity  of  all  these  pictures  is  the  utilizing  of  the 
space  around  the  sides  with  private  messages  from  the  spirit 
world  to  persons  present  or  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  seance. 
Why  this  is  done  we  are  unable  to  say,  unless  it  is  to  show  that 
the  picture  was  actually  produced  at  the  time  and  place  claimed 
for  it. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  we  have  had  every 
possible  opportunity  for  careful  and  thorough  investigation 
of  Mr.  Evans'  psychographic  powers.  We  regard  him  as  the 
most  wonderful  medium  in  the  world  for  this  phase  of  spiritual 
phenomena.  Those  who  would  question  the  genuineness  of 
these  manifestations  of  his  powers  are  simply  ignorant  of  the 
facts. 


MR.  AND  MRS.  EVANS'  TRIP  TO  AUSTRALIA. 

TT7HE  fame  of  Fred  Evans'  mediumship  had  gone  abroad, 
®|^®  until  the  name  of  the  medium  had  become  familiar  to 
investigators  of  psychic  truth  throughout  the  world. 
Me  was  in  the  receipt  of  urgent  letters  of  appeal  to  visit  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  country,  to  demonstrate  the  possibility  of  spirit 
return;  but  with  very  few  of  these  letters  was  there  any  induce- 
ment for  him  of  a  financial  nature,  and  Fred  was  unable  to  meet 
the  heavy  expense  of  journeys  to  distant  parts.  But  not  so  with 
one  letter  from  the  Psychological  Society  of  Brisbane,  Australia. 
They  offered  to  pay  the  expenses  of  himself  and  wife  to  that  far- 
distant  region,  and  offered  other  favorable  inducements  which 
prompted  him  to  consider  the  matter.  The  fare  alone  from  San 
Francisco  to  Brisbane  was  over  $400  for  the  two,  and  the  time 
required  for  the  journey  a  little  more  than  a  month. 

In  August,  1S88,  the  terms  having  been  satisfactorily 
arranged,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  sailed  from  San  Francisco  to 
the  Australian  Colonies  by  the  steamship  ''  Alameda,"  Captain 
Morse.  The  trip  was  a  very  restful  and  delightful  one, 
especially  to  our  sailor  boy,  Fred,  whose  inexhaustible  fund  of 
good  nature  made  him  a  most  agreeable  companion  to  all. 
The  Captain  became  much  interested  in  the  slate-writing 
phenomenon. 

They  arrived  at  Sydney  on  Thursday,  September  19th, 
where  they  were  welcomed  by  a  few  friends  and  members  of 
the  N.  S.  W.  Association  of  Spiritualists.  They  remained  in 
Sydney  but  one  day,  leaving  on  Friday  evening  for  Brisbane, 
where  they  arrived  late  on  Sunday  night,  much  to  the  disap- 
pointment of  a  large  number  of  friends  who  intended  to  meet 
them    at    the   wharf,    had    they    arrived    in    the    afternoon,   as 


128  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

expected.  They  were  received  by  a  delegation  from  the 
Brisbane  Psychological  Society,  and  other  expectant  friends, 
and  conveyed  to  comfortable  quarters.  After  a  few  days' 
rest  they  were  accorded  a  public  reception  at  Centennial 
Hall.  The  assemblage,  we  are  informed  by  Psychic  Notes, 
was  thoroughly  representative,  including  gentlemen  holding 
high  official  positions,  who  are  known  to  be  greatly  interested 
in  psychological  research.  Mr.  P.  R.  Gordon,  the  President  of 
the  Psychological  Society,  occupied  the  chair,  and  in  a  few 
opening  remarks  stated  that  "  it  was  not  intended  that  the 
present  should  be  a  large  public  gathering,  but,  rather,  one  of 
friends,  who  would  accord  a  hearty  fraternal  welcome  to  our 
visitors  from  across  the  sea,  and  hence  it  has  not  been  made 
public,  and  only  privately  announced."  A  short  musical 
programme  followed,  in  which  several  local  artists  took  part. 
Then  followed  an  address  of  welcome  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans 
by  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Mr.  William  Widdop.  He  assured 
them  that  they  were  heartily  welcome  to  Queensland,  and  that 
all  present  that  night  would  do  their  utmost  to  render  their 
social  surroundings  as  agreeable  and  pleasant  as  possible,  etc. 
Mr.  Evans  briefly  responded,  saying  he  fully  appreciated  the 
kindness  shown  to  himself  and  wife,  and  had  no  fear  as  to  the 
success  of  his  visit.  Another  short  address  by  Mr.  H.  Burton 
then  followed  introductions  and  pleasant  social  intercourse,  with 
a  short  programme  of  dances. 

At  a  private,  impromptu  seance,  held  on  Saturday  evening 
following  his  arrival,  with  George  Smith,  Honorable  Secretary 
of  the  Brisbane  Psychological  Society,  and  also  editor  of 
Psychic  Notes,  Mr.  Smith  says  : 

We  obtained  a  message  containing  132  words,  completely  filling  one 
side  of  a  slate  held  in  our  own  hands,  in  less  than  twenty  seconds.  Every  word 
was  neatly  and  distinctly  written  in  lines  as  straight  as  a  ruler.  The  ease  and 
rapidity  with  which  this  writing  appeared  seems  to  preclude  the  idea  that  it  is 
written  in  the  ordinary  way,  and  yet,   when  examined    microscopically,    the 


MR.  AND  MRS.  EVANS'  TRIP  TO  AUSTRALIA.         129 

traces  of  the  pencil  look  exactly  the  same,  as  though  written  in  the  usual  way 
by  a  human  hand.  We  know  these  marvelous  facts  occur,  but  to  learn  by 
what  law  they  are  produced  is  the  question  which  now  troubles  the  psycholog- 
ical student.  This  was  the  first  direct  writing  given  to  any  sitter  since  Mr. 
Evans'  arrival,  and  we  duly  appreciate  the  honor.  It  was  a  private  message 
addressed  personally  to  us,  but  also  asked  us  to  convey  to  all  those  friends 
who  had  assisted  in  bringing  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans  to  Brisbane,  the  hearty 
thanks  of  the  medium's  guides  for  affording  them  the  opportunity  of  placing 
these  great  facts  before  the  public  of  Australia,  and  assured  us  that  we  should 
soon  obtain  such  results  that  would  amply  reward  us  for  our  labors  in  this 
cause.  Mr.  Evans  then  devoted  the  whole  of  the  day,  Saturday,  September 
29th,  to  representatives  of  the  Brisbane  press,  who  came  in  twos  and  threes 
throughout  the  whole  day,  and  although  Mr.  Evans  has  hardly  got  settled  after  his 
long  journey,  the  manifestations  that  occurred  were  highly  satisfactory.  Alto- 
gether, no  less  than  twenty-four  slates  were  carried  away  from  his  seance-room 
during  the  day,  by  representatives  of  the  press. 

As  a  rule,  the  Brisbane  reporters  were  very  exacting  and 
critical.  They  had  never  seen  any  independent  writing,  and 
naturally  believed  it  all  jugglery.  The  Brisbane  Courier  pub- 
lished a  long  and  very  one-sided  report  of  the  experiences  of 
its  reporters,  closing  its  review  as  follows  : 

Then  came  a  slight  clicking  like  a  telegraph  instrument,  but  not  nearly 
so  loud,  and  Mr.  Evans  remarking,  "  Is  that  so?"  informed  me  that  I  should 
not  be  able  to  get  any  further  manifestations  that  day,  and  I  accordingly  left, 
taking  the  slates  with  me.  There  was  certainly  nothing  in  what  was  shown  me 
to  load  to  the  conviction  that  disembodied  spirits  had  anything  to  do  with  the 
matter.  The  last  quoted  message  is,  I  am  certain,  very  different  to  what 
would  have  been  conveyed  to  me,  under  the  circumstances,  by  the  gentleman 
who  was  supposed  to  have  written  it.  At  the  same  time  I  thought  I  could 
detect  in  it  what  might  have  been  an  influence  of  thoughts  passing  in  my  own 
mind  whilst  the  writing  was  in  progress.  I  have  no  other  semblance  of  a 
theory  as  to  the  reasons  of  what  I  saw. 

We  may  here  remark  that  this  reporter  had  had  what  to 
most  people  would  have  been  proof  positive  of  psychic  power, 
such  as  writing  in  colors  over  a  cross  placed  upon  the  slate, 
writing  upon  slates  held  in  the  reporter's  own  hand,  etc.  But 
to  him  it  was  all  jugglery. 


130  PSVCHOGRAPHY. 

The  Queensland  f!£a7-o  leWs  the  tale  of  its  reporter's  expe- 
rience as  follows : 

*  *  *  I  expected  to  have  been  introduced  to  a  gorgeously  furnished 
house,  full  of  possibilities  for  secret  contrivances,  and  which  I  was  prepared 
to  regard  as  "  readied  up  "  for  the  occasion.  Nothing  could  be  farther  from 
the  reality.  *  *  *  fhe  room  in  which  the  seance  was  held  was  almost 
destitute  of  furniture.  *  *  *  it  remains  for  me  to  confess  candidly  that 
I  went  to  Mr.  Evans  with  a  hostile  intent,  meaning,  if  possible,  to  prove  him 
a  fraud,  and  to  expose  any  trickery  or  humbug,  if  such  were  present.  *  *  * 
I  had  brought  with  me  a  book-slate  that  had  been  in  use  in  my  office  for  some 
years.  It  had  been  cleaned  by  myself,  and  was  shoved  up  under  my  waist- 
coat. I  had  previously  preferred  the  test  to  Mr.  Evans  that  I  might  bring  my 
own  slate,  and  he  had  agreed  to  submit  to  the  test.  *  *  *  This  is  what 
happened:  Mr.  Evans  dropped  a  couple  of  grains  of  slate  pencil  into  my 
slate,  which  I  then  shut  up.  I  sat  holding  this  slate  in  my  hands  quite  three 
feet  from  Mr.  Evans.  *  *  *  Presently  Mr.  Evans  handed  me  a  slip  of 
l)aperand  said,  "  Write  down  the  names  of  one  or  two  of  your  friends  in  the 
spirit-life,  and  lay  the  paper  on  the  slate  " — my  book-slate,  be  it  remembered. 
*  *  *  I  tried  hard  not  to  let  Mr.  Evans  see  the  names  I  wrote  down,  and 
I  beheved  I  had  succeeded.  *  *  *  My  book-slate  in  the  meantime  had 
been  lying  on  the  table,  but,  as  it  was  closed,  it  was  safe.  *  *  *  Pres- 
ently Mr.  Evans  said,  "They're  trying  very  hard  to  do  something,  but  there 
is  some  difficulty.  Open  the  slate."  I  opened  it;  on  the  second  leaf  of  the 
slate  was  a  thickly  and  heavily  traced  flourish,  which  might  be  taken  for 
"  Gray."  Here  I  would  like  to  say  that  the  slate  had  never  left  my  hands. 
When  dropping  in  the  grains  of  pencil,  Mr.  Evans  may  have  touched  the 
slate.  If  he  did  so  the  movement  was  so  rapid  that  it  escaped  me.  My 
impression  at  the  time  was  that  he  did  not  touch  it,  but  as  I  desire  to  account 
for  that  flourish  by  natural  means,  if  possible,  I  give  the  reader  every  chance. 

After  describing  different  messages  received  on  different 
slates  in  the  usual  manner,  Figaro  suins  up  as  the  others  in  favor 
of  the  conjuring  theory;  but  his  attempts  at  explanation  only 
tend  to  increase  the  mystery  surrounding  the  whole  report,  and 
leaves  the  reader  with  the  idea  that  Figaro  saw  more  than  he 
could  satisfactorily  explain,  his  last  few  words  containing  some 
sound  advice  which  his  readers  would  do  well  to  remember 
when  reading  his  report:     "  Those  who  search  after  knowledge 


MK.  AND  MRS.  EVANs'  TKIP  TO  AUSTRALIA. 


131 


must  inquire   for  themselves,  and  rest  themselves   entirely  on 
their  own  experiences,  perceptions,  and  judgments." 

The  Southern   World,  represented  by  Theodore   Wright, 
reported  as  follows  : 

Mr.  Evans,  irritated  with  the  Courier  report  (which  had  just  then 
appeared)  lifted  his  pile  of  slates  upon  the  table  for  my  inspection.  They 
were  simply  a  portion  of  a  lot  of  slates  he  had  bought  wholesale  in  Brisbane, 
to  meet  the  curiosity  of  inquirers,  whom  he  suspected  would  seek  him  out. 
Nothing  about  them  was  in  the  slightest  degree  suggestive  of  trickery  or  leger- 
demain. Having  examined  the  slates  so  as  to  be  quite  satisfied  they  had  not 
been  in  any  way  manipulated  beforehand  *  *  *  Investigation  alone  can 
solve  the  vexed  and  intricate  problem.  Those  who  are  contented  to  pose  as 
if  only  able  to  see  this  phenomenon  from  the  standpoint  of  materialism  and  the 
gross  trickery  of  legerdemain,  simply  write  themselves  down  by  so  doing  as 
fools  and  blind,  or,  to  use  the  very  expressive  words  of  the  medium — Mr. 
Evans— as  "  durned  idiots,"  for  everything  is  done  by  the  medium  so  plain  and 
unmistakably  above  board,  without  any  pretense  or  effort  whatever  to 
disguise  or  conceal,  that  it  is  actually  impossible  to  account  for  the  phenomenon, 
save  by  some  of  the  obscure  and  mostly  ignored  laws  of  the  occult  world,  that 
is  by  psychology.  Such  as  consent  to  view  it  pretensively  otherwise,  let  them- 
selves down  immensely  by  so  doing,  and  not  at  all  those  they  are  making  a 
show  of  criticising. 

The  editor  of  Psychic  Notes  gives  his  own  experience  as 
follows  : 

On  the  morning  the  Courier  report  appeared,  Mr.  Evans  was  present  in 
our  office  with  a  gentleman  who  had  just  had  a  seance,  and  who  was  showing 
the  slates  to  several  other  persons  in  the  room;  some  remark  being  made  with 
reference  to  the  production  of  writing  on  the  slates  without  the  aid  of  pencil, 
Mr.  Evans  volunteered  an  experiment  there  and  then.  One  of  the  slates, 
perfectly  clean  on  one  side,  was  placed  on  the  floor,  with  the  clean  side  next 
the  linoleum,  and  without  pencil:  one  of  the  gentlemen  present  then  placed 
his  foot  on  the  slate,  and  Mr.  Evans  placed  his  hand  on  the  gentle- 
man's shoulder;  in  a  few  seconds  the  slate  was  picked  up,  and  on  the  under 
side  was  found  written  a  name  as  though  written  with  slate  pencil.  A  short 
report  of  this  fact,  which  occurred  in  the  presence  of  six  witnesses,  was 
forwarded  to  the  Courier  but  was  refused  insertion. 

On  Tuesday  evening,  October  4,  1888,  we  had  a  private  seance  with  Mr. 
Evans  when  something  occurred  worth  recording,  as  follows  :     .\fter  cleaning 


132  PSVCHOGRAPHY. 

WO  slates  in  the  usual  way,  we  thoroughly  satisfied  ourselves  that  no  mark 
was  visible,  placed  one  over  the  other  and  held  them  in  our  hands.  After  a 
few  moments  Mr.  Evans  remarked  that  writing  had  not  yet  commenced,  and 
although  he  did  not  do  this  with  all,  he  told  us  to  open  the  slates  and  see  for 
ourselves  that  nothing  had  yet  been  done  to  the  slates.  We  did  so,  and  the 
slates  showed  a  perfectly  blank  surface;  still  holding  them  in  our  own  hands 
we  closed  the  slates  together  again,  and  in  a  few  moments  afterwards,  being 
told  to  open  them  again,  we  found  both  slates  filled  with  writing,  one  containing 
four  messages  in  patch-work  styles,  the  fourth  being  in  printed  letters,  and  in 
four  different  colors,  from  an  American  Indian  chief,  two  miniature  faces 
drawn  in  pencil,  and  some  hieroglyphics.  The  other  slates,  and  one  lying 
face  downwards  on  the  table  under  the  hands  of  our  wives,  containing  a 
neatly  written  message  of  296  words,  addressed  to  us  by  the  guide  John 
Gray,  contained  some  sound  advice,  some  of  which  we  reproduce.  He 
says:  "I  am  sorry  to  see  that  too  many  enquirers  are  adopting  too  rigid 
methods  for  beginners,  and  even  so-called  Spiritualists  attempt  and  suggest 
conditions  that  they  ought  to  know  would  sever  the  forces  that  we  must  draw 
from  the  mediums  in  order  to  produce  these  manifestations.  Why  do  they 
not  come  in  that  frame  of  mind  that  would  bring  their  spirit  friends  to  them, 
and  allow  them  (the  spirits)  to  furnish  their  own  conditions  until  they  have 
manifested  a  few  times,  and  have  learned  the  modus  operandi  f  Then 
suggest  those  rigid  tests  by  degrees,  instead  of  barring  your  doors  and  asking 
your  friends  to  come  in  and  see  you.  You  know  that  many  spirits  here  have 
never  manifested  before,  and  I  can  assure  you  that  they  find  it  very  difficult 
even  under  the  most  satisfactory  conditions;  and  you  must  know  that  I  have 
worked  hard  to  aid  them,  and  will  continue  to  do  so  if  investigators  will  be  a 
little  reasonable  in  their  search  for  spirit  communion." 

The  Telegraph  reports  as  follows: 

Although  it  has  been  my  lot,  in  the  course  of  a  somewhat  checkered  and 
varied  career,  to  encounter  men  of  many  callings,  it  yet  remained  for  me  to 
meet  a  spirit  medium.  I  have  always  regarded  the  ordinary  seances  as  so 
much  waste  of  time  for  a  busy  man,  and  the  Slade  exposures  did  not  prepossess 
me  in  favor  of  slate-writing  mediums  in  general.  However,  as  several  of  my 
personal  friends — including  some  of  the  best  known  and  respected  men  in  the 
city — had  contributed  to  the  expense  of  bringing  over  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred 
Evans  from  San  Francisco,  I  readily  undertook  the  duty  laid  upon  me  to 
represent  the  Telegraph  at  Mr.  Evans'  Press  seances  on  Saturday.  I  entered 
Mr.  Evans'  operating-room  after  the  two  visitors,  who  have  described  their 
experiences  above.     Seating  myself  opposite  to  Mr.  Evans,  he  began  by  taking 


MR.   AND    MRS.    KVANs'    TRII>    TO    AUSTRALIA.  133 

up  a  slate  from  an  apparently  inexhaustible  store  on  the  floor  at  his  left  hand. 
This  he  spat  upon  and  rubbed  with  a  cloth  on  both  sides,  explaining  that  he 
used  spittle  for  magnetizing  purposes.  At  his  request  I  held  the  slate  upright, 
pressing  my  fingers  against  each  side.  Mr.  Evans  did  likewise  for  a  few 
moments,  and  then  repeated  the  process  with  another  slate.  I  was,  however, 
careful  to  keep  an  eye  on  the  first  slate  during  the  magnetizing  of  the  second. 
This  over,  Mr.  Evans  produced  from  a  small  box  on  the  table  an  india-rubber 
band  and  a  small  pellet  of  pencil.  The  pencil  was  dropped  on  the  first  slate, 
the  second  slate  was  laid  on  top  of  the  other,  and  the  india-rubber  band  placed 
over  both.  This  was  done  fairly  over  the  middle  of  the  table,  and  if  any 
sleight-of-hand  work  took  place  it  was  much  smarter  than  anything  of  the  kind 
I  have  seen,  and  I  have  seen  a  good  deal.  The  slates  thus  joined,  I  held 
them  between  the  forefinger  and  thumb  of  each  hand.  Conversation  on  spirit 
matters  was  carried  on  freely,  and  Mr.  Evans  stated  that  he  was  very  tired, 
and  as  he  had  been  out  of  practice  for  two  months,  the  exertions  of  the  day 
had  told  upon  him.  During  the  conversation  I  tilted  up  the  slates  in  my  hand 
and  distinctly  heard  the  little  pellet  of  pencil  roll  to  the  lower  edge  of  the 
frame.  Thenceforth  I  kept  it  there.  When  the  slates  were  subsequently 
opened,  a  message  was  found  written  in  crayon  colors. 

The  Gympie  Times,  Queensland,  says  : 

I  have  been  present  at  one  of  Mr.  Evans'  seances,  and  I  am  bound  to 
say  it  was  different  to  the  usual  run  of  spiritualistic  affairs.  Everything  was 
done  in  open  daylight,  and  the  slate-writing  was  not  done  under  a  table  or 
by  personal  contact  of  the  medium. 

A  gentleman  of  high,  commercial  standing  in  Brisbane 
called  upon  Mr.  Evans  for  a  private  seance,  on  Friday,  the  fifth 
of  October,  and  on  a  slate  held  in  his  own  hands  received  a 
message  in  German,  signed  with  the  name  of  a  deceased 
relative.  The  message  contained  forty-five  words,  neatly 
and  accurately  written,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  several  German 
gentlemen  who  saw  the  slate,  must  have  been  written  by  a 
person  thoroughly  understanding  the  German  language. 

The  Spiritualists  themselves  were  extremely  critical,  often 
insisting  upon  the  most  crucial  conditions,  thereby  erecting 
barriers  of  positive  magnetism  around  the  slates  that  made  it 
very  hard  for  John  Gray  to  overcome  them,  and  extremely 
wearing  upon  the  psychic. 


134  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

Mr.  Evans  relates  that  one  of  the  chief  difficulties  he  had 
to  encounter  at  the  crucial  test  seance  he  gave  in  Brisbane, 
Australia  (mentioned  hereafter),  was  the  persistent  disposition 
of  the  committee  appointed  to  conduct  the  seance  to  open  and 
examine  the  slates  held  in  their  hands. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  those  slates  had  been 
thoroughly  cleaned  by  the  committee  themselves,  that  they  had 
placed  bits  of  pencil  between  them  with  their  own  hands,  and 
that  the  slates  were  not  for  a  moment  out  of  their  hands. 

Mr.  Evans  explained  to  them  the  conditions  necessary  to 
produce  the  writing,  one  of  which  was  that  the  slates  should  be 
kept  closed — that  the  opening  of  them  exposed  their  inner 
surfaces  to  the  light,  which  interfered  with  the  collection  of  the 
spirit  forces  necessary  to  enable  the  spirits  to  communicate. 

But  it  availed  nothing.  First  one  and  then  another,  over- 
come by  curiosity  to  know  what  was  going  on  inside,  would  insist 
upon  opening  the  slates.  There  was  one  sensible  gentleman 
on  the  committee  who  obeyed  instructions,  and  his  slates  were 
filled  with  writing,  while  the  others  got  nothing.  But  this  was 
sufficient  for  the  object  intended. 

The  history  of  this  test  seance  is  as  follows:  After  Mr. 
Evans  had  left  Brisbane  for  Melbourne,  and,  notwithstanding  he 
had  given  a  most  satisfactory  demonstration  of  independent  slate- 
writing  before  the  Society  of  Psychical  Research  of  Brisbane,  a 
fakir  broke  out  in  the  local  papers,  claiming  to  expose  Mr.  Evans' 
method  of  obtaining  the  writing  as  a  trick  of  jugglery.  Upon 
his  return  to  Sidney  from  Melbourne,  Mr.  Evans  went  back  to 
Brisbane,  hired  a  hall,  and  gave  a  free  seance,  all  at  his  own 
expense.  He  challenged  his  accusers  to  come  forward  and 
make  their  charges  true.  It  is  enough  to  say  that  he  put  them 
all  to  rout  by  producing  the  writing  upon  slates  in  the  hands  of 
sharp-eyed  skeptics,  and  under  conditions  where  jugglery  was 
simply  impossible. 

When   preparing  for  this  task   his   psychographic  control, 


Spirit  John  Gray,  on  being  consulted  in  the  matter,  said,  "Yes, 
I  'can  get  there,'  but  it  will  he  hard  on  you."  And,  indeed,  Mr. 
Evans  states,  it  luas  hard  on  him.  He  was  very  sick  during  all 
of  his  return  trip  to  Sidney,  which  occupied  nearly  two  days, 
and  he  did  not  get  over  the  effects  of  the  seance  for  many  days. 
It  is  natural  that  good  psychics  should  want  to  accept  all 
challenges  of  their  spirit  powers,  but  we  question  whether  it  is 
wise  for  them  to  do  so.  Many  Spiritualists,  and  all  skeptics, 
have  no  idea  of  the  delicate  machinery  of  mediumship,  or  of  the 
nature  of  the  forces  used  to  produce  such  wonderful  results. 
Psychics  themselves,  and  even  their  spirit  guides,  do  not  always 
understand  these  things.  Hence  it  is  that  psychics  of  this  class 
are  often  broken  down  and  ruined  by  an  over-straining  of  their 
powers. 

And,  after  all,  what  good  is  accomplished  ?  The  very 
next  fakir  that  comes  along  will  demand  a  repetition  of  the 
challenge,  and  endeavor  to  use  it  as  a  means  of  free  advertising 
to  foist  himself  upon  public  attention.  He  can  always  find  a 
church  open  to  him,  and  some  pious  but  ignorant  minister  ready 
to  assist  him  with  his  show,  which  usually  bears  no  more  resem- 
blance to  genuine  spirit  manifestations  than  a  dead  donkey  does 
to  a  live  race  horse. 

We  cannot  afford  to  have  our  good  psychics  over- worked 
in  trying  to  convince  those  who  are  not  ready  to  be  convinced. 
We  need  their  powers  for  worthier  ends.  Hence  we  would  urge 
all  psychics  to  pay  no  attention  to  those  who  challenge  their 
powers  for  the  purpose  of  disproving  them. 


-^yi/l^^^/2/lA^ 


^ 

^i 


FRED  EVANS  BEFORE  THE  PSYCHOLOGICAL 
SOCIETY  OF  BRISBANE,  QUEENSLAND. 


[From  Psychic  Notes.^ 

WITH  this  issue  of  Psychic  Notes  we  present  our  readers  with  an  engraving 
of  one  of  the  two  slates,  obtained  at  the  seance  given  by  Fred  Evans 
before  the  members  of  the  Brisbane  Psychological  Society,  on  Wednesday 
evening,  October  24,  1888,  and  which  was  briefly  reported  in  our  last  issue,  fuller 
particulars  being  held  over  until  this  issue.  A  special  meeting  of  members 
only  was  called  for  this  seance,  strangers  and  visitors  being  excluded  so  as  to 
have  the  most  harmonious  conditions  possible.  There  were  present  about 
forty  members,  including  the  worthy  president  of  the  society,  P.  R.  Gordon, 
Esq.,  who  occupied  the  chair,  and  in  a  few  words  stated  the  object  of  the 
meeting,  and  called  upon  Mr.  Henry  Burton,  a  gentleman  of  great  experience 
in  psychological  investigations,  to  deliver  a  short  address  preparatory  to  the 
seance.  Mr.  Burton,  in  a  short  speech,  explained  to  his  hearers  the  necessity 
for  the  observation  of  right  conditions  in  an  investigation  of  this  kind,  and 
how  important  it  was  that  all  antagonistic  and  inharmonious  influences  should 
be  absent  on  such  an  occasion  as  the  present  in  order  to  obtain  the  best 
results,  and  concluded  by  asking  his  hearers  to  patiently  assist  Mr.  Evans  in 
what  was  only  an  experimental  seance,  and  not  to  be  disappointed  should  a 
failure  ensue. 

Mr.  Evans  then  came  forward,  appearing  rather  nervous  at  first,  this 
being  the  first  seance  given  in  public  by  him  for  some  months  past.  He  had 
privately  expressed  his  opinion,  before  entering  the  room,  that  he  did  not 
expect  to  get  very  good  results,  as  he  did  not  feel  in  the  best  of  condition. 
Two  of  the  gentlemen  present,  Mr.  A.  Ranniger  and  Mr.  H.  Phippard,  having 
been  selected  a  committee  to  superintend  the  preparation  of  the  slates  and  act 
on  behalf  of  the  members,  they,  together  with  Mr.  Evans,  stood  at  a  small 
table  about  three  or  four  feet  in  front  of  the  audience,  each  of  the  committee 
examining  the  slates  as  they  were  handed  to  them  by  Mr.  Evans;  and  two 
pair  of  slates  having  been  cleaned  and  prepared  in  this  manner,  and  small 
pieces  of  slate  pencil  placed  between  each  pair,  they  were  carefully  sealed 
together  with  sealing-wax.  The  two  gentlemen,  each  holding  a  pair,  then 
stood  one  on  each  side  of  Mr.  Evans,  in  front  of  the  table,  and  about  two 
feet  in  front  of  the  first  row  of  chairs  containing  the  audience.      Mr.  Evans 


of  |)syclu.t;rui>hic  «ii 
Society,  October  24, 


|)ri>diiCL(l  on  a  slate  before  the  Brisbane  I'sychological 
,  through  the  mediumship  of  I'retl  Kvans.] 


138  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

then  connected  himself  with  the  slates  by  touching  one  edge  of  each  pair  of 
slates  as  they  were  held  by  the  two  gentlemen  on  each  side  of  him.  These 
two  gentlemen  then  joined  each  his  disengaged  hand  to  the  person's  sitting 
at  each  end  of  the  first  row  of  chairs,  and  then  all  present  in  the  room  joining 
hands,  a  perfect  chain  was  formed,  thus  making  a  connection  of  all  present 
with  the  slates,  and  Mr.  Evans  standing  between  the  two  committee  men,  a 
strong  power  was  at  once  manifested,  some  of  the  members  being  greatly 
affected,  being  twisted  in  their  seats  as  by  the  power  of  a  galvanic  battery; 
several  could  not  stand  the  power,  and  were  forced  to  retire  from  the  chain. 
One  member  became  unconscious  to  what  was  passing,  and  knew  nothing  of 
what  transpired  until  after  the  slates  had  been  passed  round  for  examination. 
In  a  few  minutes  from  the  time  the  connection  was  made  from  the  slates 
to  the  audience  (certainly  not  more  than  five),  Mr.  Evans  gave  orders  to  break 
the  seals  and  open  the  pair  held  by  Mr.  Ranniger,  which  was  done,  Mr. 
Ranniger  finding  one  of  the  pair  covered  with  colored  writing,  and  a  portrait 
in  the  centre;  a  murmur  of  surprise  broke  from  the  audience,  who,  however, 
still  waited  with  joined  hands  the  results  on  the  other  pair  held  by  Mr. 
Phippard.  About  two  minutes  elapsed  and  then  this  pair  was  opened,  the 
members  having  far  greater  cause  for  surprise  at  the  results  obtained  in  this 
pair,  for  one  slate  was  found  completely  covered  with  writing,  some  in  colors, 
but  the  most  of  it  in  slate  pencil,  some  of  the  writing  being  so  fine  and  small 
as  to  require  the  closest  inspection  to  read  it.  No  less  than  thirty  different 
messages  were  found  on  this  slate,  a  number  of  which  were  read  out  to  the 
audience  and  recognized  in  nearly  every  instance.  Some  of  the  messages 
were  addressed  by  name  to  members  who  were  absent  from  the  seance; 
others  to  gentlemen,  who,  though  not  members,  were  interested  in  other  ways 
in  the  work  of  Mr.  Evans.  Some  of  the  messages  are  so  finely  written  as  to 
contain  from  seventeen  to  twenty  words  in  the  space  of  about  half  an  inch 
square.  The  engraving  on  the  front  page  of  this  issue  is  a  reproduction  of 
this  slate  as  near  as  can  be  done  by  the  best  available  local  talent;  it  is 
impossible  to  produce  an  exact  fac  simile  of  the  slate,  but  our  artist  has 
succeeded  in  giving  our  readers  a  very  fair  idea  of  the  original  slate.  Some  of 
the  messages  are  very  satisfactory  and  convincing  to  the  recipients.  One 
gentleman  informs  us  that  before  leaving  home,  and  while  at  tea,  one  of  his 
children  remarked  that  Auntie  Maggie  would  be  sure  to  be  there  and  write  a 
message,  and,  sure  enough,  on  the  slate  appears  a  message  from  the  sister  of 
the  gentleman  mentioned,  and,  of  course,  he  was  very  pleased  to  be  able  to 
inform  his  child  the  next  day  that  Auntie  had  written  as  expected.  In  the 
centre  of  the  slate  appears  a  inessage  in  colored  writing: 

Carl  H.  Hartman  is  here  and  wishes  you  all  happiness.      I  omit  the  "  n." 


IKKI)    EVANS    IN     liKISHANE.  139 

At  first  wc  could  not  understand  the  last  few  words,  "  I  omit  the  '  n,'  " 
but  after  awhile  we  remembered  that  it  had  been  remarked  by  some,  who  had 
seen  a  previous  message  from  him  on  a  slate,  that  he  only  spelled  his  name 
with  one  "  n  "  instead  of  two,  as  it  was  supposed  he  should  do;  but  in  this 
message,  as  though  to  settle  the  matter  and  stop  the  discussion,  he  states  that 
he  omits  the  "  n,"  thereby  inferring  that  he  knew  of  the  remarks  that  had 
been  made  re  the  spelling  of  his  name.  On  this  slate  also  appears  the 
following  from  spirit  guide  John  Gray: 

Do  not  expect  personal  messages  tonight,  because  in  a  proniisciioiis  gathering  of  this 
kind,  spirits  as  a  rule  only  endeavor  to  acknowledge  their  presence. 

This  remarkable  slate  contains  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  words, 
giving  fifty  different  names,  and  is  written  in  ordinary  slate  pencil  and  ten 
different  colors.  The  other  slate,  which  contained  in  the  centre  a  remarkably 
well  executed  portrait  of  Pierpont  (a  somewhat  similar  picture  of  which 
appeared  in  a  former  issue  of  Psychic  Notes,  being  an  illustration  of  one  of  the 
slates  obtained  in  the  presence  of  Professor  Alfred  Russell  Wallace  at  San 
Francisco),  also  contained  six  messages  written  round  the  edges  of  the  slate 
between  the  portrait  and  the  frame.  These  messages  were  written  in  brilliant 
colors,  each  message  being  recognized  by  some  member  present.  Mr.  Evans 
was  as  pleased  as  his  audience  at  the  result  of  this  seance,  and  was  the 
recipient  of  hearty  applause  and  congratulations  at  the  close  of  the  meeting. 

Psychic  Notes  also  has  the  following  to  say  of  Mr.  Evans  : 

COLOR  TESTS   AND  PORTRAIT    DRAWING. 

At  nine  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  October  20,  1888,  we  (the  editor  of 
this  journal)  had  an  experimental  seance  with  Fred  Evans,  and  obtained  on  a 
slate  held  under  our  own  hands  a  drawing,  of  which  the  accompanying  illus- 
tration is  ^  fac  simile  as  near  as  can  be  produced  in  an  engraving  of  this 
kind.  We  sat  for  whatever  the  guides  of  the  medium  wore  pleased  to  give  us, 
and  were  more  than  satisfied  with  the  results,  which  were  simply  marvelous. 
Mr.  Evans  first  handed  us  a  slate,  which  we  satisfied  ourselves  was  perfectly 
clean,  and  which  after  having  been  held  edgeways  between  our  fingers  for  a  few 
seconds  we  placed  flat  on  the  table;  another  slate  having  been  served  in 
exactly  the  same  manner,  a  small  piece  of  pencil  was  placed  between  the  two 
slates,  and  an  elastic  band  having  been  placed  around  the  slates  they 
remained  under  our  left  hand  until  the  seance  closed.  Another  pair  of  slates, 
which  we  were  also  satisfied  were  perfectly  clean,  we  fastened  up  as  the  first 
pair  and  placed  them  under  our  right  hand;    they   also  remaining  there  and 


140  PSVCHOGRAPHY. 

not  being  moved  until  opened  by  ourselves.  We  then  at  the  request  of  Mr. 
Evans  took  a  small  piece  of  paper,  which  we  examined  and  found  perfectly 
blank,  and  folding  it  up  three  or  four  folds  tucked  it  in  between  the  elastic 
band  and  the  slate  under  our  left  hand,  and  placed  our  fingers  on  the  paper. 
We  are  quite  positive  not  a  mark  was  on  the  paper  when  folded  by  us,  and 
that  the  paper  did  not  afterwards  leave  our  possession  until  we  unfolded  it 
again.  We  then  took  a  second  piece,  and  examining  it  carefully  folded  this 
in  like  manner,  Mr.  Evans  dropping  a  minute  particle  of  lead  pencil  in 
between  the  last  fold;  this  we  also  fixed  under  the  elastic  band  and  held  it 
there  with  our  fingers.  After  a  few  minutes'  conversation,  a  rapping  sound 
being  heard  on  the  slates  under  our  right  hand,  Mr.  Evans  remarked  that  they 
were  finished  with  that,  and  on  removing  the  band  we  found  on  the  under 
surface  of  the  top  slate  the  portrait  of  a  relative  of  ours,  of  which  the  accom- 
panying illustration  is  a  copy.  It  is  impossible  to  reproduce  it  exactly  as  it 
appears  on  the  slate,  it  being  a  remarkable  combination  of  slate  and  lead 
pencil — the  surface  of  the  slate  being  evidently  whitened  by  slate  pencil  first 
and  the  portrait  then  artistically  executed  in  lead  pencil  on  the  white  ground, 
the  name  of  the  spirit  artist  St.  Clair  being  neatly  signed  under  the  right-hand 
corner  of  the  picture.      Underneath  appears  the  following  message: 

Friend  Smith: — We  have  given  you  this  as  a  proof  of  our  power  to  draw;  thi.s  is  only 
crude,  because  we  cannot  get  the  necessary  force,  but  in  a  short  time  we  will  do  better. 

Stanley  St.  Clair. 

Running  along  the  edge  of  the  slate  on  the  left-hand  side  is  a  short 
message  from  \Vm.  Denton,  the  writing  being  remarkably  small  and  fine. 
Along  the  right  edge  of  the  slate  in  printed  letters  appear  the  words, 

Indian  Jim  come  soon, 
and  some  hieroglyphics  we  do  not  understand.     At  the  top  of  the  slate,  in  the 
left  corner,  is  a  combination  of  ten  different  colors,  as  brilliant  as  it  would  be 
possible  to  produce  them  with  colored  crayons;  and  to  the   right  of  the  colors 
the  following  message  written  by  guide  John  Gray: 

Friend  Smith; — We  have  materialized  these  colors  merely  to  show  you  what  is  possible 
under  proper  conditions.  John  Gray. 

Before  noticing  all  these  particulars  on  this  slate  (which  we  did  after  the 
seance  was  over)  we  placed  it  on  one  side,  still  keeping  our  left  hand  on  the 
other  pair  of  slates  and  blank  papers.  Mr.  Evans  then  suggested  we  should 
try  a  color  test,  and  asked  John  Gray  if  he  thought  he  could  reproduce  any 
of  those  colors  from  the  slate  on  one  of  the  pieces  of  paper  which  we  held 
under  our  fingers.  Having  received  in  some  occult  manner  an  affirmative 
answer,  he  took  the  slate  with  the  colors  on  and  held  it  for  a  moment  over  the 
piece  of  paper,  which  lay    between   our  fingers  and  the  surface  of  the   slate 


FRED    F.VANS    IN     liRISIiANE.  141 

under  our  left  h;ind.  In  ten  seconds  he  said  it  was  done,  and  on  unfolding 
the  piece  of  paper  we  found  five  of  the  colors  reproduced  on  the  paper,  the 
words  "Color  Test"  and  "John  Gray"  being  written,  and  several  lines  of 
color  drawn  across  the  paper.  After  placing  this  on  one  side,  Mr.  Evans 
asked  us  to  open  the  other  paper,  and  on  this  piece  of  paper,  which  only 
measures  three  inches  square,  we  were  surprised  to  find  written  small  and  neat 
in  lead  pencil  three  different  messages  and  a  miniature  drawing  of  a  man's 
head.  One  of  the  messages,  in  writing  so  fine  that  it  almost  requires  a  glass 
to  read  it  with,  is  as  follows: 

My  Dear  Friend:— We  give  you  these  few  lines  to  prove  to  you  that  spirits  can  use 
paper  as  well  as  slates.  Joii.N  Gray. 

Another  message: 

I  am  pleased  to  bear  testimony  to  this  important  fact.  Wsr.  Denion. 

Another: 

Carl  H.  Hartman  is  here. 

A  name,  James  Smith,  and  the  miniature  drawing,  all  produced  in  lead 
pencil,  on  a  small  piece  of  paper  three  inches  square  folded  three  times,  and  on 
which  we  can  positively  swear  there  was  not  a  mark  when  we  folded  it  up  and 
placed  it  under  our  fingers.  Shortly  after  this  another  rapping  announced 
that  the  slates  under  our  left  hand  were  done  with,  and  on  removing  the  band 
we  found  the  surface  of  one  of  the  slates  covered  with  a  message  containing 
one  hundred  and  fifty-two  words,  being  a  private  message  to  us  from  the 
medium's  spirit  guide,  John  Gray,  in  which  he  stated  he  hoped  soon  to  give 
us  some  remarkable  manifestations  if  the  medium  was  kept  in  proper  condi- 
tion, and  also  that  as  the  artist  Stanley  St.  Clair  had  not  exercised  his  power 
over  the  medium  for  about  two  months  he  had  not  done  so  well  as  he  could 
and  would  do  in  the  future.  The  seance  at  which  these  marvelous  results 
were  obtained  then  closed,  having  lasted  altogether  a  little  over  half  an  hour. 
The  slate  containing  the  portrait  and  colors,  and  the  paper  with  the  writing 
on,  may  be  inspected  by  anyone  interested,  at  our  office,  and  further 
particulars  obtained  if  desired. 


PAINFUL  ACCIDENT. 


R.  FRED  EVANS  met  with  a  painful  accident  a  few 
weeks  after  his  arrival  in  Brisbane,  which  confined  him 
to  his  room  for  several  weeks,  and  part  of  the  time  to  his 
bed.  At  the  time  of  the  accident  Mr.  Evans  was,  accompanied  by 
two  friends,  returning  to  Brisbane  from  a  trip  to  the  Enoggera 
range  of  mountains,  having  left  Brisbane  the  day  before  (Satur- 
day). Mr.  Evans  having  been  very  unwell  a  few  days  previously 
and  feeling  somewhat  weak,  was  accommodated  with  a  horse,  and 
was  riding  slowly  on,  his  two  friends  following  on  foot  behind. 
The  road  was  rough  and  very  precipitous,  and  owing  to  a 
thunder-storm  the  night  before,  the  ground  in  places  was  very 
soft  and  treacherous.  Suddenly  Mr.  Evans  heard  the  voice  of 
spirit  guide  John  Gray  telling  him  to  get  off  the  horse,  and  in 
order  to  be  ready  to  jump  off  at  once  Evans  loosed  his  feet  from 
the  stirrups;  had  he  got  off  at  once  the  accident  would  not  have 
happened,  and,  as  it  was,  through  being  somewhat  prepared  by 
the  warning,  it  was  not  so  serious  as  it  otherwise  would  have 
been.  A  few  moments  after  hearing  the  voice,  the  earth  gave 
way  under  the  horse's  feet  on  one  side  of  the  track,  and  Fred  at 
once  jumped  off  at  the  other  side,  and  thus  saved  himself  from 
falling  with  the  horse  and  probably  being  crushed  under  it;  but 
unfortunately  in  coming  down  he  alighted  with  all  his  weight 
on  a  stone  on  the  lowest  part  of  the  spine,  and  on  his  friends 
reaching  him  a  minute  later  they  found  him  stretched  uncon- 
scious on  the  ground— the  horse  having  meanwhile  made  off  into 
the  bush.  The  situation  then  was  certainly  very  critical  and 
alarming — no  house  nearer  than  Gold  Creek  Reservoir,  two  or 
three  miles  away;  no  conveyance;  the  nearest  water  half  a  mile 
away,  and  one  of  the  party  of  three  unconscious  and  seriously 
hurt.  It  would  be  difficult  to  analyze  the  feelings  of  Mr.  Evans' 
friends  at  this  moment,  but  we  may  be  sure  they  both    received 


I'AINFUL    ACCIDKNT.  143 

a  painful  shock,  aiul  did  all  they  could  to  relieve  the  suflerer. 
One  of  thcin  carried  water  in  his  hat  a  distance  of  half  a  mile, 
while  the  other,  who  is  possessed  of  considerable  magnetic 
power,  tried  his  best  to  bring  back  the  vital  spark  of  life 
that  seemed  to  have  left  the  inanimate  form  before  him. 
After  some  time  they  were  rewarded  by  Mr.  Evans  returning 
to  consciousness,  but  only  to  find  him  in  great  pain  and  with 
his  limbs  partially  paralyzed.  And  then  commenced  a  terrible 
and  painful  journey  to  Gold  Creek,  which  though  short  seemed 
ten  times  as  far  as  it  really  was.  Carrying  and  supporting  the 
sufferer  between  them  as  carefully  and  tenderly  as  possible  over 
the  rough  track,  they  at  last  reached  the  cottage  at  Gold 
Creek,  where  Mr.  Thompson  (the  owner)  did  all  in  his  power 
to  assist  them ;  and  after  using  all  the  available  remedies, 
thereby  lessening  the  pain  somewhat  and  partly  bringing  back 
the  use  of  his  limbs,  Mr.  Evans  was  carefully  placed  in  a 
conveyance  and  brought  on  to  Brisbane,  arriving  late  at  night. 
Dr.  Taylor,  who  visited  him  next  morning,  found  him  (besides 
the  injury  before  mentioned)  suffering  from  a  severe  shock  to 
the  nervous  system,  and  which  seemed  to  have  thrown  his 
whole  body  out  of  order.  He  suffered  severe  pain,  and  was  at 
one  time  in  a  very  serious  condition,  but  with  the  careful  atten- 
tion of  Mrs.  Evans  and  friends,  and  doubtless  of  his  host  of 
spirit  friends,  he  rallied  through  the  crisis,  and  when  well 
enough  was  moved  from  Warry  Street,  where  he  resided,  to  a 
friend's  house  at  Ashgrove,  where,  with  plenty  of  fresh  country 
air,  sympathetic  nurses,  and  every  comfort,  he  soon  recovered 
his  usual  robust  health  and  strength,  and  was  once  more  fit  to 
fight  the  good  fight  of  truth.  This  unexpected  trouble  was 
doubly  unfortunate,  because  it  happened  just  after  that  remark- 
able seance  which  Mr.  Evans  gave  to  the  members  of  the 
Psychological  Society,  and  when  inquiries  were  beginning  to  be 
made  by  persons  who  at  first  doubted  the  reality  of  the  phenom- 
enon  but   were  now  beginning  to  look  upon  it  more  favorably. 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  OTHER  PHASES. 


WE  copy   from  Psychic  Notes,  of   Brisbane,  the    following 
series  of  experiments  with   Mr.   Evans,  made  by  the 
editor  of  that  journal.     We   may    add   that   we  have 
had    similar    satisfactory    experiments    with     Mr.    Evans,    but 
prefer  to  let  Psychic  Notes  tell   the  story. 

EXPERIMENTAL    SEANCES   WITH   FRED   EVANS- 
MARVELOUS  RESULTS. 


[By  the  Editor  of  Psychic  iVo^J.] 

At  9:30  o'clock  on  Saturday  morning,  December  8,  1888,  I  called 
upon  Mr.  Evans  at  his  rooms  for  the  purpose  of  an  experimental  seance,  my 
object  being  to  try  and  obtain  phenomena  that  would  interest  the  readers  of 
Psychic  Notes.  At  first  I  felt  doubtful  of  meeting  with  much  success,  this 
being  my  first  seance  since  Mr.  Evans'  recent  illness,  but  as  events  turned  out 
I  was  rewarded  with  reinarkable  results.  It  is  wholly  unnecessary  to  describe 
the  room  in  which  this  seance  was  held,  except  to  state  that  it  is  an  office 
rented  by  Mr.  Evans  in  a  large  building  full  of  similar  offices;  a  few  chairs 
and  a  deal-top  table  are  all  the  furniture  the  room  contains,  and  there  was  no 
other  person  present  in  the  room  during  the  seance. 

EXPERIMENT    NO.     I. 

We  seated  ourselves  at  the  table,  Mr.  Evans  with  his  back  to  a  window 
overlooking  the  street  and  opposite  to  me.  Two  new  5x7  slates  having 
been  cleaned  and  examined  in  the  usual  manner,  they  were  placed  on 
the  table.  Mr.  Evans  proposed  that  we  should  try  to  get  something  on  paper, 
and  addressing  spirit  guide  John  Gray,  Mr.  Evans  asked  if  we  would  be  suc- 
cessful with  a  paper  test,  when  three  raps  on  the  table  gave  an  answer  in  the 
affirmative.  Mr.  Evans  then  asked  me  to  tear  five  or  six  sheets  of  paper  from 
a  plain  paper  pad  that  lay  on  the  table.  I  tore  off  five  pieces,  each  measuring 
six  inches  long  by  three  inches  wide,  and  spreading  them  out  and  examining 
them  closely  could  discern  no  mark  of  any  kind  whatever  upon  them.  I  then 
laid  the  five  pieces  of  paper  on  top  of  one  of  the  slates  which  lay  on  the  table, 
and  covering  it  with  the  other  placed  my  hands  on  top,  and  did  not  again 
remove    them    from    the    slates    for    one    instant    until    they     were    opened 


I'.XI'EKIMKNTS    IN    OTHER    I'lIASES.  145 

and  the  papers  taken  out.  Mr.  Evans  placed  a  lead  pencil  on  top 
of  the  slates  and  touched  the  slates  at  the  edge  next  him  with  his 
fingers.  I  immediately  felt  a  very  powerful  force  of  some  kinil  passing 
apparently  from  my  fingers  to  the  slates,  and  experienced  one  very 
violent  shock  through  my  whole  body,  which  jerked  every  portion  of  my 
frame  from  head  to  foot.  Mr.  Evans  said  the  power  was  very  strong,  but  as 
he  had  not  tried  the  present  experiment  since  he  sat  with  Professor  Alfred 
Russell  Wallace,  at  San  Francisco,  and  who  obtained  a  similar  test,  he  did 
not  know  whether  it  would  be  entirely  successful  or  not.  Again  a  rapping  on 
the  table  announced  that  the  results  would  be  satisfactory,  and  shortly  after- 
wards a  distinct  rapping  right  on  the  slates,  apparently  close  to  my  fingers, 
informed  us  the  work  was  done,  the  time  occupied  being  under  five  minutes 
from  when  I  placed  the  paper  between  the  slates.  I  then  removed  the  top 
slate,  which  had  nothing  upon  it.  The  five  pieces  of  paper  lay  just  as  I  had 
placed  them,  one  above  the  other,  on  the  other  slate.  On  removing  and 
examining  these  pieces  of  paper,  I  found  on  four  of  them  drawings  of  no  less 
than  seven  different  portraits  or  faces,  the  fifth  piece  being  still  blank  as  placed 
with  the  others. 

EXPERIMENT    NO.     2. 

Having  placed  the  papers  containing  the  pictures  on  one  side,  leaving  the 
close  examination  of  them  until  after  the  seance,  I  turned  up  the  remaining  slate 
that  lay  on  the  table,  and  on  the  face  next  the  table  found  a  private  message 
from  John  Gray,  in  which  he  says  he  intends  giving  several  interesting  tests  to 
place  before  the  world,  through  the  medium  of  Psychic  Notes.  Then  followed 
another  very  interesting  experiment:  Mr.  Fred  Evans  gave  me  one  of  his 
cards,  and  holding  a  book  in  his  hand,  told  me  to  push  it  at  random  anywhere 
between  the  closed  leaves  of  the  book.  This  I  did,  it  being  impossible  for 
either  to  know  at  which  page  I  had  inserted  it.  The  slate  remaining,  which 
had  been  used  in  the  previous  experiment,  was  placed  on  the  table  with  a 
small  scrap  of  pencil  between  it  and  the  table.  Mr.  Evans  then  inquired  from 
John  Gray  if  he  could  produce,  in  writing  on  the  slate,  four  or  five  lines 
from  the  page  of  the  book  where  the  card  was  inserted.  A  reply  in  the  affirm- 
ative was  at  once  given  by  audible  raps  on  the  table,  and  in  less  than  three 
minutes  another  rapping  signified  that  the  test  had  been  accomplished.  On 
raising  the  slate  I  read  these  words  :  "  The  glorious  sentence,  'God  is  love.' 
Here  we  have  the  sphere  of  truth;  not  a  single  hemisphere.  We  must 
wise  as  well  as  loving,  intelligent  as  well  as  sympathetic,  rational  as  well  as 
emotional,  before  we  can  scale  the  pyramid  and  reach  the  apex  of  successful 
humanitarian  endeavor."  Underneath  this  was  written,  "  The  above  is  the  top 
five  lines,  page  47,  right  page  of  the  book.    This  will  prove  that  we  are  an  indc- 


146  PSYCHOGRAPHV. 

pendent  force,  and  do  not  depend  on  human  knowledge  for  independent  intelli- 
gence.— Guide  John  Gray."  I  then  opened  the  book  and  found  the  card  had 
been  inserted  at  page  47,  and  that  the  top  five  lines  on  that  page  read  as  copied 
on  the  slate,  with  the  exception  that  four  words  had  been  omitted  on  the  slate. 
In  the  book,  the  words  "  God  is  wisdom  "appear  between  the  words  "sentence," 
and  "  God  is  love;  "  also  the  word  "  be,"  between  "must"  and  "  wise." — 
"  We  must  be  wise."  With  this  exception,  the  remainder  is  a  correct  copy  of 
the  five  lines  as  they  are  printed  in  the  book,  which  is  entitled  "  The  Spiritual 
Science  of  Health  and  Healing,"  by  J.  W.  Colville.  This  satisfactory  and 
successful  experiment,  proving  the  existence  of  an  invisible  intelligence,  and  of 
the  possibility  of  obtaining  writing  that  could  not  possibly  be  a  reflex  or  an 
abstraction  from  the  minds  of  the  sitters,  brought  this  interesting  seance  to 
a  close. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    DRAWINGS. 

As  mentioned  above,  four  out  of  the  five  pieces  of  paper  placed  between 
the  slates  contained  drawings.  On  one  piece  is  a  likeness,  with  the  words 
"Your  Uncle"  written  just  underneath  the  face.  This  is  a  similar  picture 
received  by  me  through  Mr.  Evans  some  time  ago.  on  a  slate,  and  which  was 
reproduced  in  No.  3  Psychic  Notes,  but  on  this  paper,  instead  of  the  bust  as 
shown  on  the  slate,  appears  a  female  face,  and  the  name  "Emily"  written 
underneath.  In  connection  with  this  I  may  mention  that  at  other  previous 
seances,  and  through  several  different  mediums,  I  have  had  described  as 
standing  near  me  a  female  spirit  who  gave  the  name  of  "  Emily,"  a  cousin;  on 
this  piece  also  appears  the  name  "James  Black."  Another  piece  contains 
the  outlines  of  a  boyish  face,  underneath  which  is  written  "  Cousin  Henry." 
Not  recognizing  or  knowing  this  "Cousin  Henry,"  I  showed  it  afterwards  to 
my  elder  brother,  who  immediately  remembered  a  cousin  Henry  who  was 
drowned  when  a  boy;  my  brother  also  informed  me  that  the  boy's  father  was 
the  uncle  whose  picture  I  have  twice  received  as  mentioned  above.  The  face 
on  the  paper  is  certainly  that  of  a  boy;  underneath  is  written  that  it  is  a 
cousin  named  Henry;  I  afterwards  find  that  I  had  such  a  cousin  who  met  his 
death  whilst  a  boy.  This  is  a  test  of  some  importance,  seeing  that  I  could 
not  possibly  have  been  thinking  of  or  expecting  a  communication  from  this 
relative.  Underneath  this  picture  is  written,  "  I  hope  to  be  able  to  give  you 
some  experiences  in  the  near  future  that  will  please  you. — John  Gray."  On 
the  third  piece  appears  a  well-executed  portrait  of  the  late  D.  D.  Home,  the 
well-known  medium,  a  very  similar  picture  to  which  was  produced  in  the 
Golden  Gate,  San  Francisco,  which  picture  was  originally  produced  on  a  slate. 
Underneath  the  picture  is  the  signature,  "  D.  D.  Home,"  followed  by  the 
words,   "Friend  Smith,   we  have  given  you  this  picture  of  our  late  earthly 


EXPERIMICNTS    IN    OTlUiR    IMIASKS.  147 

co-worker,  D.  D.  Home. — John  Grav."  On  the  collar  in  the  picture  is  the 
name  of  the  spirit  artist,  St.  Clair;  this  name  is  signed  in  a  similar  manner  on 
several  of  the  other  likenesses.  On  the  fourth  scrap  of  paper,  three  different 
faces  are  produced — Professor  Hare,  Benjamin  Rush,  and  a  female  face  not 
recognized.  The  pictures  of  both  Hare  and  Rush  have  been  produced  before 
on  slates,  at  seances  in  America,  these  being  also  the  work  of  St.  Clair,  the 
spirit  artist. 

That  seven  drawings  of  this  kind  and  the  written  messages  were  produced 
on  four  pieces  of  paper,  which  less  than  five  minutes  before  were  placed  by  me 
perfectly  blank  between  two  slates,  is  certainly  phenomenal  in  the  highest 
degree,  but  that  such  a  fact  occurred  I  know,  and  though  all  the  world 
doubted,  it  would  not  affect  that  knowledge.  By  what  unknown  law  they 
were  produced,  I  do  not  know;  the  modus  operandi  has  yet  to  be  discovered, 
but  that  it  was  the  work  of  an  intelligence  outside  of  either  the  medium  or 
sitter,  the  evidence  is  very  conclusive.  Until  some  more  reasonable  and 
rational  proof  is  given  that  it  is  otherwise,  we  therefore  accept  it  as  the  work 
of  the  spirit  artist,  St.  Clair,  whose  name  is  signed  to  the  pictures,  and  accord 
him  our  best  thanks  for  his  work.  The  drawings  are  remarkable  productions, 
although  somewhat  rough  and  crude  in  appearance,  for  though  apparently 
done  in  lead  pencil,  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  drawn  in  the  ordinary 
way  by  hand,  the  lines  and  penciling  being  very  faint.  They  have  a  peculiar 
appearance,  as  though  impressed,  photographed,  copied,  or  precipitated  in 
.some  mysterious  manner  upon  the  paper.  It  must  be  remembered  also  that 
the  papers  were  all  one  on  top  of  the  other,  and  that  the  time  occupied  in  the 
production  was  less  than  one  minute  for  each  picture.  The  writing  which 
appears  on  some  of  the  papers  has  more  the  a[)pearance  of  being  written  in  the 
ordinary  manner,  being  much  more  distinct  than  the  pictures.  Many  of  our 
readers  will  remember  that  Professor  Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  the  eminent 
naturalist,  received  a  similar  test  through  Fred  Evans,  in  San  Francisco,  there 
being  also  present  at  the  seance  Mr.  John  Wallace,  Dr.  Wooster,  and  the 
editor  of  the  Golden  Gate,  all  of  whom  testified  and  signed  a  declaration  to 
the  absolute  genuineness  of  the  phenomena,  which  phenomena  now  having 
been  duplicated  in  our  presence,  we  with  pleasure  also  add  our  testimony  to 
the  fact. 

PASSING  MATTER  THROUGH  MATTER. 


In  order  to  give  John  Gray  an  opportunity  to  fulfill  his  promise  to  give 
something  interesting  for  the  readers  of  Psychic  Notes,  I  called  upon  Mr. 
Evans  again  on  Wednesday  morning,  December  12th,  for  an  experimental 
seance,   when    the   following   phenomena   occurred:     Mr.   Evans  produced  a 


FOUR  KNOTS  TIED  ON  AN   ENDLESS  STRING  BETWEEN  TWO  SLATES. 

[The  a1)ove  illustration  shows  the  string  as  it  appeared  when  the  slates  were  opened,  also  the 

card  to  which  it  was  sealed  and  the  piece  cut  from  it. J 


EXI'KRIMKNTS    IN    OTHER    IMIASICS.  149 

new  piece  of  strong  cord  of  close  fibre,  from  which  was  cut  a  piece  thirty-six 
and  one-quarter  inches  in  length.  I  held  this  in  my  hands  for  a  few  moments 
whilst  Mr.  Evans  cut  a  piece  of  card  in  such  a  manner  that  one  piece,  which 
I  kept,  would  fit  exactly  to  the  other  after  the  e.xperiment  was  over.  I  then 
held  the  two  ends  of  the  string  (upon  which  there  were  then  no  knots)  over 
the  piece  of  card,  while  Mr.  Evans  sealed  it  firmly  to  the  card.  The  string 
then  hung  in  a  loop  from  the  card — no  knots  being  visible — and  the  two  ends 
fast  to  the  card.  The  string  and  card  were  then  laid  between  two  slates  and 
fastened  with  an  india-rubber  band,  and  after  being  held  in  my  hands  a  few- 
minutes  was  placed  upon  the  floor  two  or  three  feet  from  the  table.  The 
usual  signal  having  been  given  by  raps  that  the  experiment  was  finished,  the 
slates  were  picked  up,  unfastened,  and  the  string  and  card  immediately 
examined.  The  cord  was  found  sealed  to  the  card  exactly  as  when  placed 
between  the  slates,  but  on  the  cord  were  four  knots  that  certainly  could  not 
have  been  tied  on  that  string  by  mortal  hand  after  it  was  sealed  to  the  card  in 
the  manner  described.  The  illustration  gives  an  idea  of  the  appearance  of 
the  string  after  the  experiment,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  attached  to 
the  card;  it  also  shows  the  manner  in  which  the  card  was  cut  in  two,  the  two 
pieces  fitting  exactly  when  placed  together  after  the  seance.  The  original 
piece  of  card  with  string  attached  may  be  seen  at  this  office. 


"^•^5^ 


PHYSICAL   MANIFESTATIONS   THROUGH 
FRED   EVANS. 

[By  the  Editor  of  Psychic  Notes.'\ 

0N  Friday  evening,  December  21,  1888,  a  number  of  gentlemen  met,  at  the 
invitation  of  Mr.  Evans,  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  Phippard  (contractor 
for  the  government  buildings)  for  the  purpose  of  attending  a  physical  seance. 
The  editor  of  this  journal  being  one  of  the  number,  we  are  able  to  give  our 
readers  some  particulars  of  the  remarkable  manifestations  which  occurred  at 
this  seance.  The  circle,  including  Mrs.  Evans,  who  sat  at  one  open  end, 
consisted  of  five  ladies  and  eleven  gentlemen,  sixteen  in  all.  The  room  in 
which  the  circle  sat  was  a  drawing-room,  divided  from  a  dining-room  by 
folding-doors.  One  of  the  folds  being  opened,  a  curtain  was  suspended  at  the 
opening,  and  the  dining-room  used  as  the  cabinet.  The  members  of  the 
circle  were  seated  round  the  room  in  horseshoe  shape  in  front  of  the  curtain, 
and  with  all  hands  joined  it  was  impossible  for  any  one  to  pass  within  that 
circle  to  the  space  between  the  circle  and  the  curtain  without  breaking  the 
circle.  Anyone  entermg  that  space  in  front  must  enter  by  the  curtained 
opening  from  the  dining-room.  About  three  feet  in  front  of  the  curtain  was 
placed  a  table,  and  on  it  placed  an  accordion,  concertina,  bell,  tambourine, 
and  a  guitar.  All  being  ready,  a  committee  of  five  gentlemen,  including  the 
writer — the  others  all  being  influential  and  well-known  citizens,  holding  high 
positions  in  society  in  Brisbane — were  asked  by  Mr.  Evans  to  enter  the 
dining-room  and  thoroughly  examine  it  to  see  there  was  no  one  else  there  but 
himself,  and  nothing  which  could  be  used  in  any  way  in  the  seance  to  follow. 
Having  satisfied  themselves  in  that  respect,  and  sealed  the  only  door  which 
led  into  the  dining-room  with  postage  stamps,  in  such  a  way  that  if  the  door 
was  opened  it  would  be  known  afterwards,  Mr.  Evans  then  requested  the 
committee  to  so  secure  him  that  he  would  be  unable  to  move  from  the 
position  they  placed  him  in.  To  do  this  Mr.  Evans  produced  a  strong  brass 
collar,  which  was  devised  by  a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  for  the 
purpose  of  testing  Mr.  Evans'  powers  as  a  physical  medium,  and  certainly,  to 
all  appearance,  nothing  better  could  possibly  be  made  for  the  purpose  it  is 
intended.  This  collar  was  screwed  to  the  wall  of  the  room  by  a  screw-staple, 
through  the  eyelet  of  which  the  collar  passed.  The  collar  could  be  forced 
open  in  front  sufficiently  to  put  it  round  the  neck,  the  opening  in  front  then 
being  locked  together  by  a  patent  padlock.     There  is  then  only  one  way  of 


[Brass  collar  with  which  Fred  Evans 
evening,  December  21,  1888. 


was  lixeil  to  the  wall  during  a  physi 
The  keyhole  of  the  lock  sealed  wi 
postage  stamp.] 


152  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

getting  out  of  that  collar,  and  that  is  by  unlocking  the  lock  in  front;  to 
attempt  to  pull  the  staple  out  of  the  wall  would  mean  strangulation.  The 
writer  was  first  secured  to  the  wall  by  this  collar,  and  found  it  impossible  to 
release  himself  from  the  collar.  Mr.  Evans  was  then  locked  up  in  it,  the  key 
being  kept  by  one  of  the  committee.  Another  gentleman  then  sealed  up  the 
keyhole  in  the  lock  with  a  postage  stamp,  and  initialled  it  privately  to  make 
certain  the  postage  stamp  was  not  removed.  Mr.  Evans  now  being  secured, 
the  gentlemen  of  the  committee  joined  in  the  circle  in  front  of  the  curtain, 
and  the  lights  put  out,  the  circle  all  joining  hands.  Almost  immediately,  the 
instruments  were  moved  on  the  table,  loud  knocks  heard,  the  bell  loudly  rung, 
and  the  accordion  most  beautifully  played,  seemingly  all  round  the  circle,  and 
close  to  the  faces  of  the  sitters,  the  wind  from  the  bellows  being  felt  quite 
distinctly.  The  guitar  was  then  played,  and  floated  about  the  rooms,  each 
sitter  also  being  lightly  touched  by  it  on  the  knee.  Next  followed  the  concer- 
tina, and  a  voice,  said  to  be  that  of  John  Gray,  complained  about  its  quality, 
it  being  rather  out  of  tune.  This  direct  voice  was  heard  during  the  remainder 
of  the  seance — sometimes  behind  the  curtain,  sometimes  just  in  front,  and 
then  again  so  close  to  one  or  other  of  the  sitters  as  to  quite  startle  those  near. 
A  musical  box  was  placed  on  a  table  just  inside  the  curtain  in  the  dining- 
room,  and  it  having  run  down,  John  Gray,  in  the  direct  voice,  stated  his 
intention  of  winding  it  up,  and  immediately  the  noise  of  the  winding  lever 
being  rapidly  moved  was  heard,  the  power  with  which  it  was  done  causing  the 
box  to  knock  on  the  table  as  it  was  moved,  and  the  music  was  started  again. 
Several  of  the  instruments  were  manipulated  at  the  same  time,  and  once  the 
noise  was  sufficient  to  give  one  the  idea  of  quite  an  orchestra  being  at  work. 
The  accordion  was  certainly  most  artistically  played,  the  power  required  for  its 
manipulation  seeming  to  be  very  great.  Almost  simultaneously  with  the 
playing  of  these  instruments  there  suddenly  appeared  at  the  curtain  a  beauti- 
fully illuminated  materialized  form,  which  we  were  afterwards  informed  was 
that  of  the  ancient  Spartan  king,  Agesilaus.  The  figure  was  beautifully 
outlined  in  some  luminous  manner,  a  diadem  on  the  head,  and  numerous 
decorations  on  the  breast  being  very  pretty.  Advancing  a  few  steps  forward 
the  figure  shook  hands  with  Mrs.  Evans,  and  placed  his  hand  on  the  head  of 
one  of  the  gentlemen  present;  bowing  gracefully  to  the  circle,  the  figure  then 
retired  behind  the  curtains.  Following  this  several  other  indistinct  forms 
appeared,  but  none  so  distinct  as  the  first.  After  more  manipulation  of  the 
musical  instruments,  and  some  conversation  with  John  Gray,  who  played  the 
accompaniment  to  a  song  on  the  concertina,  orders  were  suddenly  given  to 
light  up,  and  the  seance  terminated.  The  gentlemen  who  fastened  up  Mr. 
Evans   then   immediately    went   into  the  dining-room,  and   there  found    Mr. 


niVSICAI.    MANIFESTATIONS    THROUGH    FRKD    F.VANS.  153 

Evans  just  as  he  had  been  secured.  He  was  very  white,  and  in  a  cold,  clammy 
perspiration,  and  evidently  very  much  exhausted.  The  .seal  over  the  keyhole 
of  the  lock  was  found  just  as  it  had  been  placed  there  before  the  seance,  and 
the  private  marks  intact.  The  seals  were  also  found  intact  on  the  door  of 
the  room.  Considering  the  state  of  Mr.  Evans'  health,  the  unsuitability  of 
the  climate  at  this  time  of  the  year  for  physical  manifestations,  and  the  fact 
that  it  is  about  two  years  since  Mr.  Evans  gave  his  last  physical  seance,  the 
results  obtained  at  this  seance  were  very  satisfactory,  and  very  startling  and 
mysterious  to  those  present  who  had  not  seen  similar  manifestations  before. 


(■ 


SPIRIT    rOKTRAIT 

raken  for  the  editor  of  Psychic  N,n 

\iee  page  139.] 


A  SEANCE  WITH    FRED   EVANS. 


[From  Psychic  A'olcs.] 

rnHE  following  interesting  account  of  a  seance  with  Fred  Evans  has  been 
1  handed  to  us  for  publication,  by  a  gentleman  holding  a  responsible 
position  in  the  civil  service  of  the  colony  (it  was  first  offered  to  the  Brisbane 
Courier,  but  refused  insertion) : 

"  Most  of  my  readers,  no  doubt,  perused  the  several  accounts  of  seances 
reported  in  the  Brisbane  Courier  and  Telegraph  newspapers.  Even  the  most 
adverse  of  these  reports  thoroughly  proved  to  the  intelligent  reader  that  something 
occurred  which  could  not  possibly  be  accounted  for  by  legerdemain.  The 
opinions  given  by  some  of  the  writers  may  well  be  ignored  entirely,  as  they 
fail  to  prove  any  trickery  on  the  part  of  the  medium,  Mr.  Evans.  I  decided 
to  visit  Mr.  Evans  and  see  for  myself  the  psychographic  phenomena  said  to 
take  place  in  his  presence.  Accordingly,  accompanied  by  a  friend,  we  called 
upon  him  at  his  residence,  but  Mr.  Evans  being  unwell  that  day,  he  refused 
to  sit  for  us;  several  others  who  had  arranged  for  seances  that  day  were 
also  disappointed.  This  has  happened  several  times  since  Mr.  Evans  has 
been  here.  Now,  why  should  it  be  requisite  that  the  medium  should  be  in 
good  health  in  order  to  hold  successful  seances,  if  the  phenomena  are  produced 
by  sleight-of-hand  ?  He  did  not  appear  to  be  very  ill  on  the  day  he  refused  to 
give  us  a  seance;  still  he  took  no  fees  from  anyone  that  day,  and  therefore  lost 
several  guineas  which  he  might  have  got  had  he  been  in  proper  condition 
to  give  seances. 

"  Now  for  the  particulars  of  my  seance.  Before  proceeding  the  second 
time  to  Mr.  Evans'  residence,  I  bought  two  slates  in  town,  and  placing  two 
bits  of  red  pencil  and  one  bit  of  ordinary  slate  pencil,  about  an  eighth  of  an 
inch  long,  between  the  slates,  tied  them  together  with  a  piece  of  string. 
Before  tying  them  up  I  put  my  name,  and  also  got  one  of  my  fellow  officers  to 
affix  his  initials  on  the  wooden  frame  of  both  slates,  and  also  made  certain 
marks  on  the  slates  with  a  knife  in  order  that  we  might  identify  them  after- 
wards. I  then  wrapped  the  slates  up  in  brown  paper  and  again  tied  them  with 
another  string.  In  this  form  I  took  them  to  Mr.  Evans,  and  was  again 
accompanied  by  my  friend.  We  were  received  by  Mrs.  Evans,  who  engaged 
us  in  conversation  a  few  minutes  until  Mr.  Evans  came  into  the  room.  In  reply 
to  inquiries  regarding  his  health,  he  said  he  still  felt  very  unwell,  but  would 
go  on  with  the  seances.      I  entered  the  seance-room  alone  with  Mr.  Evans,  he 


156  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

Stating  that  in  his  then  state  of  health  it  might  be  better  that  we  sit  alone;  1 
carried  my  packet  of  slates  with  me.  The  room  has  two  windows;  an  oblong, 
uncovered  pine  table  stood  with  one  end  to  one  large  window  covered  with  a 
white  blind,  the  other  window,  which  is  smaller,  being  partly  covered  with  a 
muslin  curtain.  The  seance  took  place  in  full  daylight.  Mr.  Evans  sat  at 
one  side  of  the  table  with  his  back  to  the  small  window,  I  at  the  other 
side  with  the  large  window  to  my  right.  Mr.  Evans  took  my  right  hand  in  his 
right  hand  for  a  minute,  during  which  time  his  hand  and  arm  twitched 
convulsively.  When  he  let  go  he  e.xclaimed,  '  You  have  grand  magnetism;  it 
is  extremely  soothing  to  me.'  I  then  asked  him  if  he  found  any  great  difference 
in  the  magnetism  of  different  individuals,  when  he  informed  me  that  there 
was  so  much  difference  that  some  people  almost  racked  him  to  death,  and 
this  explains  why  some  people  get  such  better  results  than  others.  I  may 
state  here  that  I  have  studied  and  practiced  mesmerism,  or  animal  magnetism, 
for  several  years,  and  have  been  the  means  of  relieving  much  pain  and 
suffering  through  its  agency. 

"  I  was  about  to  remove  the  brown  paper  wrapper  from  the  two  slates  I  had 
taken  with  me,  so  as  to  leave  the  two  slates  simply  tied  together,  and  give  free 
access  to  any  magnetism  that  may  have  to  penetrate  the  slates,  when  Mr. 
Evans  said  it  was  not  necessary,  and  that  I  was  to  keep  the  slates  tied  up  as 
they  were  in  paper.  He  said  he  did  not  profess  to  always  obtain  writing  on 
slates  brought  by  sitters  fastened  up  beforehand,  or,  in  fact,  on  any  particular 
slates,  but  the  former  is  obtained  if  the  magnetism  of  the  sitter  happens  to  be 
favorable,  as  it  was  in  my  case.  He  requested  me  to  hold  my  slates  on  edge 
on  the  table  for  a  minute  or  two,  which  I  accordingly  did,  he  just  touching 
the  edge  of  the  frames  next  to  him.  I  then  laid  the  slates  down  at  my  left 
hand,  and  at  his  request  wrote  several  names  of  deceased  friends  on  a  slip  of 
paper,  without  allowing  him  so  see  what  I  was  writing  by  keeping  my  left  hand 
over  what  I  wrote.  I  wrote  four  names  on  the  paper,  and  folded  it  while  still 
behind  my  hand,  and  held  it  in  my  left  hand  during  the  remainder  of  the 
seance.  Mr.  Evans  then  stood  up,  and  taking  my  packet  of  slates  by  one 
corner,  threw  it  on  the  floor  (which  was  covered  with  oilcloth)  some 
distance  from  the  table.  The  slates  lay  there  during  the  remainder  of  the 
seance,  in  full  view  all  the  time.  Mr.  Evans  did  not  get  off  his  chair  again 
till  the  end  of  the  seance,  and  he  could  not  reach  the  slates  without  doing  so. 
I  can  certainly  aver  that  it  remained  where  thrown  till  the  close  of  the  sitting. 
No  one  entered  the  room,  Mrs.  Evans  being  engaged  in  conversation  with  my 
friend  in  the  next  room  during  the  whole  time  I  sat  with  Mr.  Evans. 

"  Mr.  Evans  then  took  a  slate,  evidently  new,  from  a  number  of  such, 
and   after  wiping   it  on   both  sides  with  a  rag,  placed  a  small   piece   of  slate 


A  SEANCE  WITH  EKED  EVANS.  157 

pencil  on  the  table,  and  placed  the  cleaned  slate  over  it.  I  then  placed  both 
hands  on  the  slate,  and  also  on  two  others  which  had  been  treated  as  the  first; 
Mr.  Evans  did  not  touch  these  slates  again  until  the  end  of  the  seance. 
Occasionally  Mr.  Evans  would  appear  to  listen  and  then  mention  a  name, 
asking  me  if  I  knew  such  a  person.  He  said  he  heard  the  name  spoken  as  if 
through  a  telephone,  and  that  sometimes  a  number  of  voices  was  heard  at  the 
same  time,  thereby  causing  confusion  (persons  using  the  telephone  will  under- 
stand this).  The  first  name  he  mentioned  he  could  not  get  the  proper 
pronunciation  of,  but  it  was  sufficiently  near  to  one  I  had  written  for  recog- 
nition; he  also  gave  the  initial  of  the  Christian  name  correctly.  One  of  the 
slates  on  the  table  when  turned  over  revealed  this  name,  signed  at  the  bottom 
of  a  letter  purporting  to  come  from  him: 

Well,  you  have  come  at  List,  and  right  glad  I  am  to  meet  you  here.  Vou  must  first 
know  that  I  and  the  rest  of  the  folks  have  found  much  happiness  here,  and  intend  soon  to  give 
you  a  proof  of  our  presence  by  rapping  at  the  head  of  your  bed;  you  will  realize  that  which  you 
have  long  waited  for,  soon.  li-  C. 

"  Mr.  Evans,  looking  towards  me,  then  said  he  saw  the  spirit  of  a  lady 
over  my  head,  named  Martha  E.  This  was  a  sister  of  mine  whose  name  I  had 
also  written  on  the  paper,  and  another  one  of  the  three  slates  on  the  table,  on 
which  I  had  kept  my  hand  the  whole  of  the  time,  was  turned  over,  and  a 
letter,  covering  the  whole  side  of  the  slate,  and  signed  with  my  sister's  name, 
appeared: 

God  bless  you.  I  am  now  able  to  give  you  some  proof  that  spirits  can  and  do  come 
back.  I  wish  I  could  make  you  understand  my  happiness  here;  I  can  assure  you  that  I  would 
not  come  back  to  live  on  earth  if  I  could.  My  only  regret  is  in  leaving  loved  ones  behind;  but 
I  feel  happy  in  knowing  that  we  are  not  parted  forever,  but  will  all  meet  again  to  part  no  more. 
Love  to  all.     From  the  happy  spirit  of  Martha  E . 

"The  medium  then  mentioned  another  name  which  I  had  also  written, 

Mrs.  W ,  and  told  me  that  Ellen  and  also  Elizabeth  F were  with  her, 

and  also   Mary    F ;  the  latter,  he   said,  appeared  to  have   died  at    an 

advanced  age.  I  thought  of  my  grandmother,  who  was  over  eighty  when  she 
died,  but  I  could  not  remember  her  Christian  name.  I  afterwards  asked  my 
father,  and  found  her  name  was  Elizabeth — one  of  the  names  given— and  that 
Mary  was  the  name  of  a  sister  of  my  father's,  who  would  be  over  eighty  years 
of  age  if  still  alive,  but  he  does  not  know  if  she  is  dead   or  living.     The  last 

two  names  mentioned  by  Mr.  Evans,  Elizabeth  F ,  my  grandmother,  and 

Mary  F ,  my  father's  sister,  I  had  not  written  down  on  the  slip  of  paper. 

Mr.  Evans  then  gave  another  of  the  names  I  had  written  on  the  paper,  E 

P ,   a  sister  of  mine  who,  he  said,  wished   to  know  '  What  about    the 

baby  ? '  This  sister  died  about  twelve  years  ago,  leaving  a  baby  nine  days 
old,    which   another  sister  adopted;  this  niece  of  mine  is  still   living.       Mr. 


158  PSVCHOGRAPHV. 

Evans  then  asked  me  if  I  remembered  Henry.  1  could  not  remember  any 
relation  of  that  name  for  some  time,  but  after  thinking  awhile  I  remembered  a 

cousin,  Henry  M'C ,  whom  I  had  not  seen  for  over  thirty-six  years;  then 

he  said,  'Do  you  remember  William,  a  brother  to  Henry?'  I  then  recol- 
lected a  cousin  Henry  who  came  to  Queensland  and  went  up  North;  I  do  not 
know  whether  he  is  dead  or  alive,  and  cannot  at  present  ascertain.  Mr. 
Evans  then  told  me  I  should  hear  some  good  news  in  a  few  days,  and  also  that 
I  would  take  a  long  journey  from  Brisbane  shortly.  The  first  I  hope  may  be 
true;  the  latter  I  have  no  idea  of  at  present.  All  this  time  my  tied  up  slates 
had  lain  where  they  were  put  on  the  floor,  and  had  certainly  not  been  touched. 
Mr.  Evans  said  he  heard  rapping  on  them,  and  getting  up  picked  them  up 
and  placed  them  on  the  table  by  my  side,  still  tied  up  in  the  brown  paper  I 
had  brought  them  in.  The  medium  then  asked  'Johnny'  if  anything  had 
been  done  with  them,  and  immediately  came  a  rapping  on  the  table  which  he 
informed  me  was  an  answer  to  the  effect  that  writing  had  been  obtained  on  my 
slates,  and  requested  me  to  open  them,  which  I  did;  after  taking  the  first 
string  and  paper  wrapper  off  I  found  the  string  round  the  bare  slates  exactly 
as  I  had  put  it  on.  When  I  had  removed  that  and  opened  the  slates,  I  found 
writing  on  both  slates  in  red  and  also  slate  pencil.  On  examination  I  found 
facets  wor7i  on  both  particles  of  pencil,  proving  that  they  had  been  both  used. 
The  messages  read  as  follows  (in  red  pencil): 

God  bless  you.  I  am  glad  to  have  given  you  these  few  lines  to  prove  that  Spiritualism 
is  true.  I  have  written  with  your  pencil  as  an  extra  proof.  This  from  your  cousin.  (Love 
from  Mrs.  W ).  Henry  F . 

(In  red  pencil):     Your  sister,  R.  P ,  is  Mere  and  wil    control  you   to   write  soon. 

Love  to  all.     From  your  sister,  R-  P • 

(In  slate  pencil):     What  more  proof  do  you  want  ?  John  Gray. 

"  I  leave  my  readers  to  decide  for  themselves  how  the  writing  was  done, 
and  admit  that  I  cannot  myself  explain  it,  not  having  come  to  any  decision  as 
yet  on  that  point.  I  am  fully  convinced  that  Mr.  Evans  did  not  write  one 
word  that  appeared  on  my  slates,  but  I  give  no  opinion  as  to  the  source  of  the 
manifestations.  I  may  state,  however,  that  although  the  writing  appears  at 
first  sight  to  be  in  different  hands,  it  all  has  a  resemblance  in  the  character  of 
many  of  the  letters.  This  is  not  very  strange,  however,  and  is  easily  under- 
stood by  the  psychologist,  seeing  it  comes  through  one  medium  or  channel, 
and  is  likely  to  partake  of  his  organism.  H.  W.  Fox. 

"  Declared  before  me  at  Brisbane,  this  nineteenth  day  of  October,  1888. 
"  E.  MacDonnell,  J.  P." 

— -mM- — 


MR.     EVANS'    DEPARTURE    FROM     BRISBANE. 

BEFORE  taking  their  departure  from  Brisbane,  the  Psycho- 
logical Society  of  that  city  extended  to  Mr.  Evans  a  most 
cordial   endorsement  of  his  wonderful  gifts,  not  only  in 
words,  which   have  the  ring  of  the  true  coin,  but  in  a  purse  of 
sovereigns  also,  as  follows  : 

TESTIMONIAL. 
(Psychological  Society,  Brisbane,  Queensland,  January  2,  1889.) 

TO    MR.    AND    MRS.    EVANS,    OF   SAN    FRANCISCO. 

Dear  Sir  and  Madam  : — We  cannot  permit  your  present  visit  amongst  us 
to  come  to  a  close  without  expressing  to  you  our  earnest  wishes  for  your 
future  happiness  and  prosperity.  We  sincerely  regret  that,  owing  to  your  late 
unfortunate  accident,  and  the  depressing  atmosphere  of  the  hot  summer 
months,  conditions  have  not  been  entirely  favorable  to  the  highest  manifesta- 
tion of  your  psychic  gifts,  but  many  of  us  have  witnessed  more  than  enough 
to  assure  us  that  psychological  students  have  in  you  superior  instruments 
through  whom  they  may  obtain  phenomena  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
mankind.  Without  wishing  to  detract  from  the  pleasure  of  others  in  Australia 
who  are  desirous  to  welcome  you,  we  hope  the  time  will  not  be  long  before 
you  may  be  permitted  to  again  visit  us,  when  you  may  depend  upon  the 
reception  always  accorded  to  honest  workers  in  the  cause  of  truth  by  the 
liberal  thinkers  of  Brisbane.  But  wherever  you  travel,  or  in  whatever  part  of 
the  world  your  lot  may  be  cast,  you  will  be  followed  by  the  heartfelt  wishes 
for  your  highest  happiness  of  the  many  friends  who  have  derived  pleasure  and 
enlightenment  from  your  visit.  We  also  request  your  acceptance  of  the 
accompanying  purse  of  sovereigns,  contributed  by  a  few  friends  on  the  eve  of 
your  departure  for  Melbourne,  as  some  slight  recompense  for  losses  occa- 
sioned by  the  before-mentioned  accident.  With  renewed  assurances,  believe 
us  to  be,  dear  sir  and  madame,  Very  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)  William  Widdop,  Chairman, 
George  Smith,  Hon.  Sec. 
On  behalf  of  the  meeting. 

After  Mr.  Evans  left  Brisbane  for  Melbourne,  a  juggler 
named  Patterson  obtained  access  to  one  of  the  local  papers,  the 


160  PSVCIIOGRAPHY. 

Telegraph,  and  gave  a  pretended  expose  of  Mr.  Evans'  method 
of  procuring  the  writing.  His  articles  were  published  with 
sensational  head  lines  which  were  in  no  sense  sustained  by  the 
matter  which  followed.  The  Telegraph  also  offered  a  challenge 
of  one  thousand  pounds  to  Mr.  Evans  if  he  would  produce  the 
writing  on  the  editor's  own  slates.  Mr.  Evans  wrote  back  to 
the  Psychological  Society  in  Brisbane,  instructing  them  to  procure 
the  Telegraph  man's  proposition  in  writing,  when  he  would 
immediately  go  back  to  Brisbane  and  convince  him  of  his  error- 
But  it  was  demonstrated  that  he  was  not  willing  to  make  good 
his  boast.  And  the  Psychological  Society  instructed  its  secre- 
tary to  write  to  Mr.  Evans,  informing  him  of  the  failure  of 
their  committee  to  secure  the  signature  of  the  Telegraph's 
editors  to  the  one  thousand  guinea  offer.  The  society 
expressed  their  continued  confidence  in  Mr.  Evans'  psycho- 
graphic  powers,  and  in  his  honesty,  and  renewed  their  invita- 
tion for  another  visit  from  this  psychic,  which  was  accepted 
with  grand  results,  as  will  be  seen  later. 

Mr.  Evans  had  already  given  a  test  seance  to  the  Society 
for  Psychical  Research  of  Brisbane,  as  well  as  to  many  careful 
and  skeptical  investigators,  and  invariably  with  the  most  satis- 
factory results.  Hence  the  pretended  expose  created  no  little 
excitement  in  Brisbane.  An  officer  was  sent  on  to  Melbourne 
with  a  view  to  his  arrest,  provided  he  should  find  the  writing  to 
be  produced  in  the  manner  claimed  by  Patterson.  Of  course,  it 
was  not  so  produced  (that  is,  by  trickery),  and  he  returned  a 
convert  to  the  truth. 

After  returning  to  Sydney,  Mr.  Evans  went  back  to 
Brisbane  (two  days'  ride  by  rail),  for  the  purpose  of  confounding 
his  accuser.  He  hired  a  hall,  challenged  honest  investigation  of 
the  phenomena  witnessed  in  his  presence,  and  gave  a  free  public 
seance.  A  committee  of  five  persons  were  selected  from  the 
audience.  The  result  was  a  grand  victory  for  the  spirit  powers 
attending  Mr.  Evans.     Just  before  leaving  Brisbane  Mr.  Evans 


MR.   EVANS      DErAKTURE    EROM     URISHANE.  1  ()  1 

was  waited  upon  by  four  members  of  the  committee  who 
conducted  the  public  test  seance.  "  They  informed  him,"  says 
the  Harbins;er  of  Light,  "  that  as  soon  as  he  left  it  was  the 
intention  of  Mr.  Patterson  to  take  exception  to  the  conclu- 
siveness of  the  tests  then  obtained,  on  the  ground  that  Mr. 
Evans  had  furnished  the  slates,  and  requested  him  to  give  them 
a  seance  there  and  then,  and  obtain  writing  on  two  slates  they 
had  brought  with  them.  Mr.  Evans  and  the  whole  party 
retired  into  an  empty  room,  and  the  four  members  of  the 
committee  holding  the  two  slates  in  their  own  hands,  obtained 
several  messages  on  them,  some  of  the  messages  being  signed 
by  relatives  of  the  persons  holding  them.  The  room  did  not 
contain  one  particle  of  furniture,  and  the  slates  brought  by  the 
committee  never  left  their  sight  frotn  the  time  of  their  arrival 
till  the  completion  of  the  messages.  No  more  complete  test  than 
the  above  could  possibly  be  given.  The  Pattersonian  expose 
vanishes  before  it  into  thin  air." 

Upon  this  subject  the  Harbinger  of  Light  has  the 
following : 

A  full  report  of  Mr.  Evans'  address  at  West's  Hall,  Sydney,  has  reached 
us  just  as  our  paper  is  ready  for  press;  but  for  this  we  should  have  been  very 
pleased  to  have  published  it,  as  it  contains  a  detailed  account  of  the  Patterson 
expose  business,  of  which  we  will  give  the  gist,  though  we  think  what  we  have 
already  written  on  the  subject  should  have  been  sufficient  to  satisfy  any 
unprejudiced  person  of  the  insufficiency  of  Mr.  Patterson's  theory  to  cover 
one-half  the  ground. 

First — Patterson  had  only  one  sitting  with  Mr.  Evans  (October  3,  1888), 
when  he  expressed  his  opinion  that  "  the  manifestations  were  wonderful; "  but 
pointed  out  that  conjurers  did  many  wonderful  things,  including  slate-writing. 
Mr.  Evans  thereupon  explained  the  three  methods  by  which  the  latter  was 
done,  one  of  them  being  the  "  masked  "  slate,  the  latter  appearing  the  most 
satisfactory  to  Patterson. 

Second — Mr.  Evans  did  not  leave  Brisbane  till  January  3,  1889,  previous 
to  which  the  genuineness  of  his  mediumship  was  endorsed  by  the  Psycho- 
logical Society,  who  also  presented  him  with  a  purse  of  sovereigns. 

Third — No  attempt  at   exposure  was  made  until  nearly  three  months 


162  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

after  Mr.  Patterson's  sitting,  and  at  least  a  fortnight  after  Mr.  Evans  had  left 
Brisbane. 

Fourth — It  was  known  that  Patterson  had  offered  his  professed  discovery 
to  the  Courier  for  ;^so;  but  that  journal  having  refused  to  have  anything  to 
do  with  it,  the  Telegraph  had  bought  the  sole  right  to  publish  it  for  a  less 
amount.  That  it  was  purely  a  business  transaction  was  shown  by  the  fact  of 
their  copyrighting  it,  which  they  certainly  would  not  have  done  had  they 
published  it  on  public  grounds. 

Fifth — That  when  the  Telegraph,  in  a  spirit  of  bravado,  had  offered  a 
thousand  guineas  if  Evans  could  produce  a  spirit  writing  on  slates  provided  by 
them,  Mr.  Evans  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Psychological  Society,  asking 
that  body  to  wait  upon  the  editor  and  request  him  to  put  the  offer  in  writing, 
when  Mr.  Evans  would  immediately  come  from  Melbourne  to  accept  the 
challenge.  That  on  compliance  with  this  request  the  Secretary  and  other 
members  called  upon  the  editor,  but  could  not  induce  him  to  write  the 
challenge. 

Sixth — That  no  one  who  had  sat  with  Mr.  Evans  could  be  found  to 
endorse  Mr.  Patterson's  imitation,  and  that  four  out  of  the  six  persons  who 
signed  the  account  of  the  Patterson  mock  seance  were  shareholders  in  the 
Telegraph  ! 

Seventh — That  the  said  paper  circulated  a  report  that  Mr.  Evans  had 
taken  the  first  steamer  to  America,  whilst  he  was  giving  successful  seances  in 
Melbourne. 

Eighth — That  the  Psychological  Society  held  a  meeting  to  consider  the 
matter,  expressed  their  continued  confidence  in  Mr.  Evans;  that  a  deputation 
was  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  editor  to  arrange  for  space  to  reply  to  his 
charges  against  Evans,  but  were  refused  such  space. 

Ninth — That  copies  of  the  Telegraph  and  Week  (which  belong  to  the 
same  proprietary),  containing  the  alleged  expose,  were  sent  all  over  the  world, 
and  to  editors  of  spiritualistic  papers,  to  the  detriment  of  Mr.  Evans' 
reputation,  and  that  Eight,  a  London  journal,  was  evidently  misled  by  them. 
The  foregoing  is  the  gist  of  the  address,  which  pretty  conclusively  shows 
that  the  expose  was  a  job  got  up  to  make  money  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Evans' 
reputation. 


WHAT    MR.   SOMERVILLE  SAYS. 

PMONGST  the  numerous  testimonies  to  the  convincing 
nature  of  Mr.  Evans'  mediumship  that  have  come  under 
our  notice,  aside  from  our  personal  experience,  the  fol- 
lowing, extracted  from  a  private  letter  to  Mr.  Carson  from  a 
former  resident  in  Melbourne — Mr.  A.  Somerville — is  a  good 
specimen: 

You  say  that  you  expect  to  go  to  China  and  Japan,  and  be  absent  till 
December  next.  I  am  sorry  that  this  occurs  at  the  time,  as  Mr.  Fred  Evans 
and  wife  expect  to  be  in  Australia;  he  is  going  (I  understood)  to  Brisbane 
first  and  then  to  Sydney.  I  would  be  sorry  that  anything  should  prevent  him 
visiting  Melbourne,  for  I  am  sure  that  those  who  have  any  faith  in  progressive 
spiritual  views  would  be  pleased  with  his  abilities.  I  visited  him  some 
months  ago,  and  got  the  greatest  satisfaction  I  could  expect.  He  had  never  seen 
me  before,  nor  had  I  seen  him;  I  did  not  give  my  name  either,  first.  I  sat 
down  at  a  small  table;  he  went  to  the  opposite  side  and  was  cleaning  two 
slates,  when  he  said,  "  There  is  a  lady  by  your  side  who  gives  her  name  as 
Harriet,"  asking  if  I  knew  one  of  that  name.  I  assented.  "  She  says  she  is 
your  wife,  is  that  so  ?"  I  assented.  "There  is  a  young  man  with  her  who  gives 
his  name  as  George,"  did  I  know  him.'  I  assented.  When  the  slates  were 
ready,  he  put  a  very  small  bit  of  slate  pencil  between,  and  put  a  rubber  band 
around  both.  I  told  him  I  had  some  questions  on  paper — five  in  all — some 
of  them  double,  and  all  to  my  wife.  He  told  me  to  put  them  all  under  the 
band.  I  did  so,  and  put  the  points  of  my  fingers  on  the  slates  as  they  lay  on 
the  table.  He  then  got  two  other  slates  and  laid  them  on  the  floor;  then  he  sat 
down  and  we  conversed  on  various  subjects  for  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes, 
when  he  said,  "  The  answers  are  on  the  slates."  I  took  the  paper  of  questions  out 
and  put  it  in  my  pocket,  and  was  about  to  read  the  slates  from  the  table, 
when  he  said,  "  Read  this  from  the  floor  first,"  which  I  did.  The  under  slate 
had  a  message  of  welcome  and  congratulation  from  my  wife,  written  on  the 
upper  side  only — nothing  being  on  the  upper  slate.  Then  I  read  the  under 
slate  which  was  on  the  table;  it  was  filled  on  both  sides  with  complete 
answers  to  all  my  questions,  and  numbered  conseadively .  On  the  under  side 
of  the  upper  slate  was  a  communication  from  my  son,  unsolicited,  and   I   had 


164 


PSVCHOGRAPHy. 


no  thought  of  asking  of  any  but  my  wife.  Then  I  asked  if  Evans  would 
enquire  what  was  the  illness  that  caused  my  wife's  death.  After  a  little  while 
he  replied,  "  She  says  it  was  so  dreadful  that  she  does  not  wish  to  refer  to  it." 
(It  was  cancer  of  the  stomach.)  I  then  asked  if  I  could  get  a  communica- 
tion from  a  Dr.  Dewolf,  by  whose  advice  I  first  went  to  see  a  medium  some 
twenty-four  years  ago.  Fred  Evans  asked  his  guide  to  see  'f  he  could  bring  Dr. 
Dewolf,  and  after  a  little,  Fred  Evans  laid  a  slate  on  the  floor,  and  soon  there 
was  a  message  on  it  quite  characteristic  of  the  man: 

Hello,  friend  Somerville,  you  have  our  best  wishes  for  your  future  welfare.  You  now 
see  that  Spiritualism  is  all  O.  K.     We  cannot  write  more  at  present.  Dr.  C.  Dewolk. 

This  ended  my  first  and  only  visit  to  Mr.  Evans,  which  was  to  me 
thoroughly  satisfactory  as  far  as  it  went.  I  brought  with  me  the  four  slates, 
with  the  messages  written  on  them,  and  have  them  now.  I  omitted  to  say 
that  the  writing  by  Dr.  Dewolf  was  each  line  alternately  in  red  and  ^reen. 


FRED  EVANS  IN  MELBOURNE. 

rT7HE  Harbinger  of  Light  and  Psycliic  Notes ^  as  well  as  the 
®|®  secular  press  of  the  principal  cities  of  the  Australian 
colonies,  were  so  loaded  with  Fred  Evans  and  his  seances 
during  his  memorable  stay  in  the  colonies,  that  if  we  should 
undertake  to  give  a  liberal  fraction  of  their  reports,  this  hook 
would  far  exceed  its  intended  dimensions.  We  can  only  relate 
the  more  important  events  as  given  by  the  local  press. 

The  following,  from  Mr.  Terry,  editor  of  the  Harbinger  of 
Light,  illustrates  some  of  Mr.  Evans'  first  work  in  that  city  : 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred  Evans  arrived  in  Melbourne,  by  Sydney  express, 
on  January  lo,  1889,  and  were  met  at  Spencer  Street  by  the  Presi- 
dent, Treasurer,  and  Secretary  of  the  Victorian  Association  of  Spirit- 
ualists. In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  they  were  introduced  to  the  members 
and  their  families  at  the  Thistle  Company's  Hall.  Although  the  meeting  was 
hastily  convened,  there  were  about  eighty  persons  [jrosent,  and  the  utmost 
harmony  and  good  feeling  prevailed. 

Mr.  Terry,  the  President,  in  opening  the  proceedings,  stated  that  they 
would  be  quite  of  an  informal  character.  They  had  met  to  welcome  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Evans,  whom  he  now  introduced  to  them  collectively,  and  hoped  to  do 
so  individually  further  on.  Mr.  Evans  had  a  world-wide  reputation;  he  would 
be  known  to  the  readers  of  the  Harbinger,  the  American  and  also  the  English 
papers,  as  a  medium  of  exceptional  powers  and  unsullied  reputation.  Physical 
phenomena  alone,  though  an  essential  basis  in  many  instances  whereon  to 
build  the  philosophy  of  Spiritualism,  were  very  much  lessened  in  value  by  the 
facility  with  which  they  could  be  counterfeited;  but  Mr.  Evans  fortunately 
combined  both  physical  and  mental  mediumship,  giving  tests  through  the 
latter  of  spirit  identity;  and  his  work  here  was,  therefore,  likely  to  be  of 
substantial  benefit  in  the  advancement  of  Spiritualism. 

Mr.  Evans  briefly  responded,  expressing  his  satisfaction  at  the  cordial 
welcome  accorded  to  himself  and  Mrs.  Evans,  and  giving  a  resume  oi  his  experi- 
ences in  Brisbane,  where  press  antagonism  had  at  first  impeded  his  way.  He 
had,  however,  in  spite  of  unfavorable  circumstances,  succeeded  in  convincing 


166  PSVCHOGRAPHV. 

a  number  of  intelligent  people  of  the  reality  of  the  phenomena,  and  the  press 
had  published  the  report  of  the  local  Psychological  Society,  which  was  endor- 
sive  of  the  genuineness  of  the  phenomena.     *     *     * 

Early  on  Monday  following  the  above,  we  received  information  that  both 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred  Evans  were  seriously  ill,  and  on  proceeding  to  the  Federal 
Coffee  Palace  found  them  suffering  from  fever  and  ulcerated  throats. 
Magnetic  treatment,  however,  told  rapidly  on  the  fever,  and  by  Wednesday 
they  were  sufficiently  convalescent  to  be  removed  to  Caulfield,  where  pure  air 
and  attention  completed  their  restoration,  and  on  Saturday  Mr.  Evans  felt 
sufficiently  well  to  give  his  first  seance  in  Victoria,  which  took  place  in  the 
writer's  dining-room  at  Caulfield,  there  being  present,  besides  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Evans,  Mrs.  F.  Harris,  Miss  S.,  Mr.  Terry,  his  son  and  daughter.  A  Star 
lamp,  giving  a  powerful  light,  was  on  the  table.  Mr.  Evans  produced  two 
new  slates  which  he,  however,  cleaned  on  the  table,  requesting  the  writer  to 
hold  them  between  his  hands  for  a  short  time.  Having  done  so  we  handed 
them  back  to  him,  and  after  placing  a  small  grain  of  pencil  between  them,  he 
passed  a  strong  elastic  band  around  them,  and  requested  us  to  hold  them 
edgewise  on  the  table,  and  the  remainder  of  the  sitters  to  form  a  chain  by 
connecting  each  other's  hands.  He  then  stood  behind  the  writer,  resting  one 
of  his  hands  lightly  on  our  right  shoulder,  about  two  feet  from  the  slate. 
Presently  a  faint  sound  of  writing  was  heard,  which  lasted  about  two  minutes, 
and  when  it  ceased  Mr.  Evans  took  the  slates,  still  closed  and  fastened,  in  his 
right  hand,  and  rested  them  successively  for  about  a  minute  on  the  shoulders 
of  the  remaining  sitters,  then  handing  them  to  us  to  open.  On  removing  the 
bands  one  slate  was  found  to  be  entirely  filled  with  writing,  the  upper  portion 
being  written  small,  but  very  clear  and  distinct.      It  read  as  follo\vs: 

Friend  Terry:— I  am  pleased  to  greet  you  with  these  few  lines,  and  desire  you  to  have 
many  seances  with  the  medium  when  he  becomes  settled.  I  think  it  advisable  that  he  should 
not  give  any  seances  until  he  has  been  settled  in  permanent  quarters,  which  will  be  early  next 
week.     You  will  readily  understand  our  motive  for  this.     Accept  the  thanks  of  the  spirit  world 

for  your  kindness  to  our  mediums.     You  will  be  amply  repaid    soon.     Your  son  R ,  and 

daughter  M •  will  develop  strong  medial  powers  soon.     Good-bye  for  the  present. 

John  Gray. 

The  next  message  was  in  a  totally  different  hand- writing,  as  follows: 

Dear  Jennie: — Cheer  up,  lass,  the  dark  clouds  are  dispersing,  and  all  looks  bright 
ahead.     Love  to  the  children.     Your  husband,  Thomas  Harris. 

Mrs.  Harris  asserts  that  the  writing  was  a  fac  simile  of  Mr.  Harris', 
though  she  had  no  letter  at  hand  to  show  the  correspondence. 

To  the  right  of  this  is  a  short  message  for  Miss  S.,  signed  with  the  name 
of  her  grandmother.  Between  these  in  a  triangular  space  is  the  following, 
written    very     small:       "  The   spirit    of    E L is   here,   and  sends 


FRED  EVANS  IN  MELBOURNE.  167 

love  to  Mr.  Terry."  Mr.  Terry  was  the  only  i>erson  present  who  knew  the 
spirit  when  in  the  body,  and  had  not  thought  of  her  or  mentioned  her  name 
for  probably  a  year  or  more.  Another  message,  very  boldly  written,  announced 
that  John  Terry  and  many  others  who  could  not  write  now,  but  would  make 
themselves    known    through    the   medium    at    a    future    time,    were    present. 

Then   two  lines  as  follows  :     "My  love  to  you,  uncle,  and  to  cousin  M 

and  B .    From  your  nephew,  'Tom.'"     The  words  "  no  more  to-night" 

filled  the  slate,  and  finished  the  communication.  During  the  whole  of  the 
sitting  the  slates  never  left  the  sight  of  any  at  the  table,  and  Mr.  Evans'  hand 
was  only  in  contact  with  the  outside  of  them  whilst  they  rested  on  the 
shoulders  of  the  sitters  during  the  reception  of  their  respective  messages. 

On  January  22nd,  a  party  of   ladies  and    gentlemen,   numbering   over 
twenty,   met    at  Caulfield  to    spend   a    social    evening    with    Mr.   and    Mrs. 
P>vans.     In    the    course    of    the    evening   Mr.    Evans   kindly    offered    to    try 
an  experimental  sitting  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  company,  provided  a 
suitable  apartment  were  available.     An  enclosed  veranda,   being   devoid   of 
furniture,  was  decided  upon  as  the  most  suitable,  and  the  company,  to  the 
number  of  twenty-six,  were  seated  in  four  rows,  two  small  tables  being  placed 
about  six  feet  from  the  front  row,  on  one  of  which  was  placed  the  lamp,  and  on 
the  other  five  blank  slates,  pencils;  a  glass  of  lemonade  (brought  in  mistake  for 
water)  was  used  by  Mr.  Evans,  who  stood  on  the  further  side  of  the  table,  to  wash 
the  slates  with,     .\fter  having  asked  some  of  the  sitters  to  touch  the  slates  to 
magnetize  them,  Mr.  Evans  took  an  uncut  slate  pencil  and   drew  two   lines 
from  corner  to  corner,  intersecting  each  other  at  the   centre;  then   dropping 
two  small  grains  of  the  pencil  on  the  linoleum,  midway  between  the  table 
and  the  sitters,  he  put  a  slate  over  each  with  the  line  side  downward.     Two 
other  slates  were  put  together  with  pencil  between,  and  an  elastic  band  round, 
and  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mrs.  Harris,  who  was  directed   to   hold  them  up 
over  her  head,  and  in  the  full  light  of  the  lamp.      Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans,  who 
were  about  six  feet  from  either  slate,  were  both   powerfully  affected   for  some 
three  minutes  of  silence  which  ensued.     We  were  then  requested  to  lift  one  of 
the  slates  from  the  floor,  and  on  doing  so  found  it  full  of  writing,  in  difTerent 
colors.      We  immediately  handed  it  to  a  well-known  literary  gentleman  to  take 
charge  of  till   read;  and  the  second  slate  being   found   blank,   we  took   the 
closed  slates  from  Mrs.  Harris'  hands,  and  on  removing  the  band  found  one 
of  the  slates  filled  with  writing.     We  immediately   closed   these  and  handed 
them  to  a  legal  gentleman,  and  the  seance  having  finished,  the  holder  of  the 
first  slate  was  requested  to  come  forward  to  the  table  and  read  it.      .Mthough 
only  the  piece  of  ordinary  slate   pencil   had   been   underneath   the  slate,  the 
writing  was  in  four  colors,  and  read  as  follows: 


IfaS  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

Dear  Friends: — I  am  pleased  to  meet  you  all  here  this  evening.  Many  of  you  no 
doubt  remember  me,  and  my  recent  visit,  when  in  the  form,  to  your  colonies.  I  have  just  come 
here  this  evening  to  ask  you  to  appreciate  these  mediums'  visit  among  you.  Try  and  make  it 
pleasant  for  them,  so  that  they  may  come  here  again,  and  induce  others  to  come  and  spread  the 
grand  truth  of  spirit  return.  The  spirit  world  always  recognizes  and  appreciates  any  kindness 
shown  to  their  mediums,  for  it  makes  them  lietter  by  being  thus  pleased  and  harmonized  to  be 
used  as  instruments  of  the  spirit  world,  and  I  must  say  in  conclusion  that  if  these  mediums  are 
properly  treated  they  will  do  much  good,  and  make  many  hearts  happy  among  you  in  the 
knowledge  that  your  loved  ones  can  and  do  come  back.     Good-night.       WILLIAM  DENTON. 

This  communication  is  undoubtedly  written  over  the  crossed  pencil 
lines  which  were  marked  on  the  slate  immediately  before  it  was  placed  on  the 
floor,  and  hence  must  have  been  written  whilst  the  slate  lay  on  the  floor, 
several  feet  away  from  Mr.  Evans,  and  in  full  view  of  at  least  a  dozen  of  the 
sitters.  Noticing  a  similarity  to  Mr.  Denton's  style  in  the  writing,  we 
subsequently  looked  up  some  of  his  letters  received  during  his  journey  north- 
wards eii  route  to  New  Guinea,  and  find  a  very  close  resemblance  between  the 
two.  The  other  slate  contained  no  less  than  fourteen  messages,  addressed  to 
different  persons  present,  which  want  of  space  prevents  our  copying;  enough, 
however,  has  been  given  to  make  manifest  the  particularly  clear  and  satisfac- 
tory nature  of  Mr.  Evans'  mediumship,  of  which  we  shall  have  more  to  say 
in  our  next. 

A  very  clever  gentleman  at  Brisbane,  Patterson  by  name,  has  found  out 
"  how  it  is  done,"  and  shown  the  method  to  several  other  gentlemen  who 
have  not  had  sittings  with  Mr.  Evans,  and  who  though  signing  a  description  of 
Mr.  Patterson's  performance  as  correct,  are  very  careful  to  say  that  it  is 
alleged  that  the  various  incidents  in  the  mock  seance  are  the  same  as  those 
that  occur  at  Mr.  Evans'.  The  process  is  very  simple:  you  have  only  to  get 
your  messages  written  beforehand,  cover  them  over  with  another  thin, 
frameless  slate,  exercise  a  little  sleight-of-hand  to  put  this  out  of  sight  during 
the  seance,  and  there  you  are!  !  ! 

The  Brisbane  Evening  Telegraph  has  gone  into  partnership  with  Mr. 
Patterson  in  the  business,  copyrighted  their  paper,  and  we  presume  intend 
taking  out  a  patent  for  the  invention.  It  may  be  new  to  them,  but  it  is  a  very 
stale  thing  amongst  conjurers  and  slate-writing  imitators  in  America.  It  is 
very  easy  to  gull  the  uninitiated  and  inexperienced  with  an  explanation  of  this 
sort,  or  to  persuade  one  here  and  there  who  has  had  a  single  seance  that  his 
senses  have  deceived  him,  but  to  the  practical  investigator,  or  clear-headed 
experimenter,  the  explanation  is  ridiculously  thin. 

Intensely  clever  people  of  the  Patterson  stamp  imagine  that  they  who 
fail  to  see  as  they  do  are  brainless  fools,  and  pit  their  half-hour's  experience 
against  the  careful  examination  of  men  like  Robert  Dale  Owen,  William  Crookes, 


FRED    EVANS    IN    MICLIiOURNK.  169 

Professor  Hare,  and  Alfred  Russell  Wallace,  V.  R.  S.,  with  the  most  unblushing 
effrontery.  It  pleases  thcni  and  "tickles  the  groundlings,"  but  has  little 
effect  on  thoughtful  men. 

The  following,  from  the  Harbinger  of  Light ^  of  March  i, 
18S9,  illustrates  another  phase  of  the  mediumistic  power  of 
Fred  Evans: 

Mr.  ?>ans  commenced  his  [irivate  sittings  at  255  \'ictoria  Parade,  on 
Thursday,  January  31,  1S89,  and  has  since  been  fully  occupied.  The  serious  fall 
•he  sustained  in  Queensland  has  materially  weakened  his  nervous  system,  and 
necessitated  the  limitation  of  the  number  of  sittings  he  is  so  able  to  give,  hence 
many  have  had  to  wait  their  turn  for  a  seance.  We  have  conversed  with 
several  sitters,  who  have  all  been  satisfied  with  their  seance,  and  some  of  them 
quite  delighted  with  the  proofs  of  identity  they  have  received  from  spirit 
friends.  We  have  had  two  private  sittings  with  Mr.  Evans,  on  both  occasions 
receiving  conclusive  tests;  in  one  instance  from  a  friend  whom  we  were  not 
thinking  of,  who  wrote  a  message  of  nearly  200  words  on  a  pair  of  slates  placed 
on  the  floor  about  four  feet  from  the  medium.  This  message  referred  to 
matters  known  only  to  the  communicating  spirit  and  ourselves — events  that 
occurred  some  five  years  since,  and  which  were  only  recalled  to  memory  by 
the  communication.  A  gentleman  well  known  in  banking  and  commercial 
circles  in  Brisbane,  who  had  had  his  faith  shaken  in  the  genuineness  of  Mr. 
Evans'  phenomena  by  the  Brisbane  Telegraph  articles,  which  untruthfully 
assert  that  Mr.  Patterson  obtains  the  same  results  by  trickery,  visited  Mr. 
Evans  in  Melbourne  during  the  early  part  of  the  month,  and  having  obtained 
writing  on  his  own  slates  under  strict  test  conditions,  has  returned  to  Brisbane 
and  published  his  experiences  in  the  Telegraph,  of  February  9th,  to  the 
chagrin  of  Pattersonians.     *     *     * 

In  Psychic  Notes  for  January  is  published  a  description  of  a  seance 
with  Mr.  Evans  for  the  evolution  of  psychic  phenomena,  accompanied  with 
an  illustration  of  a  collar  and  padlock,  used  to  secure  the  medium  during 
the  seance,  and  prevent  any  possibility  of  his  aiding  the  manifestations  by  any 
physical  means.  The  precautions  taken  were  deemed  satisfactory  to  the 
committee  who  superintended  the  seance,  but  exception  was  taken  by  out- 
siders, first,  to  the  security  of  the  keyhole  of  the  lock,  which  had  been  covered 
with  an  initialled  postage  stamp,  and  which  it  was  asserted  might  have  been 
moistened,  removed,  and  reattached  during  the  darkness;  and,  secondly,  of 
the  lock  itself,  which  it  was  alleged  might  be  picked  wdth  a  penknife.  We 
think  most  of  our  readers  will  join  us  in  discrediting  the  idea  that  a  patent 
lock  with  a  keyhole  three-eighths  by  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  could  be   so 


170  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

opened  without  ocular  demonstration  of  the  fact,  but  as  the  possibility  of 
picking  the  lock  depends  upon  the  keyhole  being  accessible,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  consider  this  question  in  a  case  where  precautions  were  taken  to  render  the 
keyhole  absolutely  inaccessible  to  a  penknife  or  any  other  instrument  without 
certain  detection,  as  in  the  case  we  are  about  to  describe  of  a  seance  held  at 
84  Russell  Street,  on  Friday,  February  15th. 

The  seance  was  intended  to  have  been  held  in  our  office,  but  there 
being  greater  conveniences  in  the  library  of  the  Association,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  hold  it  there.  Mr.  Evans  was  not  aware  in  what  room  it  was  to  be 
held,  and  had  never  been  in  the  room  until  he  entered  it  to  give  the  sitting. 
In  the  northwest  corner  of  this  room  the  framework  of  the  cabinet  used  by 
the  committee  for  Mr.  Spriggs'  materialization  seances  still  remains.  The 
curtains  were  attached  to  this,  and  in  the  extreme  corner  a  pole  about  two 
inches  in  diameter  was  fixed  to  the  wall  by  three  iron  staples,  and  screwed  to 
the  floor  and  upper  frame  of  the  cabinet. 

The  company  present,  in  addition  to  the  medium,  consisted  of  Mr.  John 
Carson,  Mr.  W.  Morgan,  Mr.  W.  H.  Terry,  Mr.  C.  Bamford,  Mrs.  H.  Barn- 
ford,  and  Mrs.  Evans.  The  apparatus  to  be  used  to  secure  Mr.  Evans  con- 
sisted of  a  brass  collar  made  of  stout  wire,  on  which  was  threaded  a  brass 
eyelet  staple  with  a  single  screw,  one  inch  long  in  the  worm,  and  a  patent 
brass  spring  lock  used  for  a  similar  experiment  by  a  committee  of  the  Academy 
of  Sciences.  The  collar  having  been  screwed  securely  into  the  pole  by  Mr. 
Bamford,  and  tested  as  to  its  security  by  the  other  gentlemen  present,  Mr. 
Evans  sat  on  a  plain  wooden  chair  placed  beneath  it,  whilst  the  collar  was 
placed  round  his  neck  and  fastened  with  the  lock.  It  was  found  to  be  uncom- 
fortably tight,  however,  and  two  books  were  placed  under  the  front  legs  of  the 
chair,  to  make  his  position  more  tolerable.  A  small  piece  of  paper  was  then 
placed  over  the  keyhole,  and  wax  melted  over  it  to  a  diameter  of  three-quarter 
inches.  A  seal  half-inch  in  diameter  was  then  firmly  impressed  upon  it,  and 
examined  separately  by  the  four  witnesses,  who,  having  each  satisfied  him- 
self of  its  soundness,  withdrew  and  closed  the  curtams. 

The  table  had  previously  been  put  at  the  further  end  of  the  room,  eight 
feet  from  where  the  medium  sat,  and  on  it  were  placed  a  large  musical  box, 
an  accordion,  a  tambourine,  and  a  common  house-bell.  The  sitters  arranged 
themselves  in  a  section  of  a  circle  on  the  side  of  the  table  furthest  from  Mr. 
Evans,  with  hands  joined,  Mrs.  Evans  being  in  the  centre,  her  hands  held  by 
Messrs.  Morgan  and  Terry,  and,  having  extinguished  the  light,  the  musical 
box  was  set  going,  and  by  request  a  song  was  started,  but  before  the  first  verse 
was  finished  the  accordion  and  tambourine  ascended  and  began  playing,  and 
the  bell  was  rung.     When  these  ceased,  a  voice  addressed  Mr.  Carson,  saying 


FRED  EVANS  IN  MELUOURNE.  171 

the  speaker  was  glad  to  see  him  again.  Mr.  Carson  recognized  the  voice 
(which  was  a  peculiar  one)  as  belonging  to  John  or  Johnnie  Gray,  whom  he 
had  seen  materialized  at  Chicago  in  1876. 

John  reminded  Mr.  Carson  that  he  had  spoken  disparagingly  of  his  voice 
on  that  occasion.     This  Mr.  Carson  remembered  to  be  a  fact. 

Presently  the  accordion  rose  again  from  the  table,  and  played  with  power 
and  precision,  "  Home,  Sweet  Home."  The  tambourine  and  bell  joined  in, 
and  the  musical  box  was  thrown  violently  on  a  chair,  while  a  clatter  as  of 
booted  feet  was  heard  upon  the  table.  The  instruments  having  descended 
upon  the  table  and  floor,  the  voice  of  John  Gray  informed  us  that  through  the 
medium  not  having  taken  rest  from  his  labors  prior  to  the  seance,  the  power 
was  exhausted.  A  light  was  accordingly  struck,  and  Mr.  Evans  found  seated 
with  the  collar  round  his  neck,  as  before  the  seance.  The  seal  over  the  key- 
hole was  carefully  e.xamined  and  certified  to  be  intact.  It  was  then  cut  off  by 
Mr.  Terry,  but  the  wax  having  burnt  through  the  paper  into  the  keyhole,  it 
had  to  be  picked  out  with  a  knife  before  the  key  could  be  inserted.  Mr. 
Evans,  when  released,  was  much  exhausted.  There  was  not  the  slightest 
possibility  of  Mr.  Evans  physically  aiding  the  phenomena  that  occurred,  and 
as  the  two  end-men  of  the  chain  of  sitters,  Messrs,  Carson  and  Terry,  placed 
both  their  hands  in  contact  with  that  of  the  next  sitter's  during  the  whole  of 
the  seance,  there  was  no  free  hand  in  the  room.  The  door  of  the  room  was 
locked  and  the  key  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Morgan,  who  is  only  an  investi- 
gator of  psychic  and  spiritual  phenomena.  The  result  of  this  seance  should 
establish  the  genuineness  of  the  similar  one  held  in  Brisbane,  by  demonstrating 
that  the  removal  of  the  seal,  or  release  of  Mr.  Evans,  is  not  essential  to  the 
occurrence  of  phenomena. 


fr 


PUBLIC   DEMONSTRATION    OF   PSYCHOGRA- 

PHY   AT   HORTICULTURAL   HALL, 

MELBOURNE. 

[From  the  Harbinger  of  Light. '\ 

0N  Sunday,  March  lo,  1889,  Mr.  Fred  Evans  gave  his  services  to  the 
Victorian  Association  of  Spiritualists  for  a  public  demonstration  of  his 
wonderful  mediumistic  powers  at  their  evening  service,  held  in  the  Horti- 
cultural Hall,  Victoria  Street.  The  hall  was  crowded  in  every  part,  a  large 
number  standing  in  the  doorway  and  central  aisle. 

The  proceedings  were  opened,  as  usual,  with  a  hymn,  followed  by  an 
excellent  trance  address  by  Mrs.  T.  Harris. 

At  a  quarter  to  eight  o'clock  Mr.  Evans  ascended  the  platform,  and, 
being  introduced  to  the  audience  by  the  Chairman,  Mr.  Terry,  said  there 
were  three  things  essential  to  success  in  these  experiments — that  the  medium 
should  be  in  good  health,  free  from  mental  perturbation,  and  that  the 
audience  should  be  passive  and  orderly.  The  first  two  of  these  conditions 
were  absent;  he  was  not  in  good  health,  and  had  sat  up  all  night  tending 
his  wife,  who  was  seriously  ill,  which  had  naturally  disturbed  his  mental 
condition.  He  would,  however,  do  his  best,  though  he  could  guarantee 
nothing. 

He  requested  a  gentleman  and  lady  to  come  forward  to  the  platform  on 
behalf  of  the  audience.  Two  gentlemen,  Mr.  J.  Henshaw  and  Mr.  Bond, 
and  a  lady,  Mrs.  Barber,  came  forward,  and  were  accommodated  with  seats  on 
the  platform.  At  this  juncture  a  gentleman  in  the  audience  asked  if  it  Jivas 
necessary  that  Mr.  Evans'  slates  should  be  used,  as  he  had  brought  two  with 
him.  Mr.  Evans  replied  that  he  might  bring  his  slates  forward,  hold  them 
himself,  and  see  what  he  could  get.  He  came  on  the  platform,  gave  his  name 
as  Hoskins,  and  untied  the  two  slates.  Mr.  Evans  examined  them  to  see  if 
there  was  any  writing  on  them,  put  a  small  grain  of  pencil  between  them,  and 
returned  them  to  Mr.  Hoskins,  who  tied  them  up  again,  and,  passing  to  the 
corner  of  the  platform,  held  the  tied  slates  in  his  hand.  Mr.  Evans  then  put 
new  slates,  one  by  one,  in  a  bucket  of  water  standing  on  the  front  of  the 
platform,  deliberately  washed  them  and  dried  them  with  a  small  cloth  before 
the  eyes  of  the  audience  and  committee,  placing  a  piece  of  pencil  between. 
Two  of  them  he  handed  to  Mr.  Henshaw,  a  second  pair  were  handed  to  Mr. 
Bond,  and  a  third  to  Mrs.  Barber.  Another  gentleman,  named  Brown,  was 
invited  forward,  and  supplied  with  two  slates,  which  were  first  crossed  with  a 


FACSIMILE  OF  DIRECT  SPIRIT  WRITINC. 

Received  under  Test  Conditions   at  Mr.  Fred  Evans"  Public  Seance,  Horticultuml  Hall, 

Melbourne,  Sunday,  March  6.  1S89. 


AT    IIORTICI'I.TURAI.    IIAI.I.,    MELBOURNE.  175 

broad  pencil  mark  by  Mr.  I'-vans,  and  bound  together  with  a  strong  elastic 
band.  These  slates  were  held  up  by  Mr.  Brown  before  the  audience  until 
taken  from  his  hands,  and  one  shown  covered  with  writing,  as  described  later 
on.  Mr.  Hoskins  stated  in  answer  to  a  question  that  he  heard  something 
moving  between  his  slates,  but  he  did  not  know  whether  it  was  the  pencil. 
Shortly  afterwards  he  untied  the  slates,  and  on  one  of  them  was  found  written 
the  following: 

Ukar  Frie.nds: — I  .im  pleased  to  come  back  and  add  my  evidence  to  the  truth  of  spirit 
return.  I  know  many  of  you  do  not  believe  in  the  possibility  of  the  power  of  spirits  to  come 
back  and  communicate.     But  you  will  all  know  the  grand  truth  sooner  or  later. 

Your  old  advocate,  John  Tyerman. 

Friends  and  Truth  Seekers:— It  is  so  long  since  my  presence  has  been 

made  known  amongst  you  that  I  expect  I  am  almost  forgotten.  Tell  Mr.  H.  J.  Browne  (he 
knows  me)  that  I  am  glad  to  see  him  still  upholding  the  sublime  truth  of  our  hereafter.  I  am 
overjoyed  in  having  this  chance  to  demonstrate  to  you  that  we  can  come  back  and  give  you 
envitable  (?)  proof.  Yours,  Artiii-r  Devlin. 

Mr.  Bond's  slates  were  next  examined,  and  one  found  to  be  covered 
with  writing;  also  one  of  Mrs.  Barber's  (whose  slates  had  previously  been 
placed  at  her  feet).  The  pair  of  slates  held  by  Mr.  Brown  were  then  unclosed, 
and  writing  in  three  colors,  besides  the  pencil,  found  all  over  them,  written 
over  the  littes  made  on  the  slates  at  the  time  they  were  closed,  and  handed  to 
Mr.  Brown. 

Mr.  Hoskins  (the  gentleman  who  had  brought,  tied,  and  held  his  own 
slates)  said  he  desired  to  make  an  important  statement  to  the  audience,  which 
was  that  the  two  slates  had  been  given  to  him  by  Professor  Baldwin 
(who  was  a  friend  of  his).  He  thought  it  only  fair,  in  view  of  what  had 
occurred,  that  he  should  acknowledge  this.t  Mr.  Evans  offered  to  submit  the 
slates  to  test  to  prove  that  the  writing  on  the  slates  was  surface  writing,  and 
not  produced  by  chemicals.  The  slate  held  by  Mr.  Brown  forms  the 
illustration  of  the  colored  slate  given  herewith.  The  messages  on  the  other 
slates  were  then  read  as  follows: 

God  bless  you  my  son.  I  am  glad  to  see  you  here  to-night.  We  cannot  say  much  of  a 
private  nature  before  an  audience  like  this,  therefore  we  only  send  you  greeting.  This  from 
your  spirit  father.     Good-night.  John  Bell. 

The  spirit  of  John  Dobson  sends  love  to  his  daughter.  John  DorsOn. 

Mv  Dear* Rohert  : — I  have  come  to-night  to  tell  you  that  though  absent  in 

body  I  am  with  you  in  spirit.  Your  sister,  Emily  Weeks. 

The  spirit  of  .Mary  Foster  is  here.     This  from  James  Foster. 

Richard  Williams  is  here  and  sends  kind  greetings  to  his  son,  John — be  careful  of  the 
market. 

Dear  Ann  :— I  am  always  glad  to  write  a  few  lines  to  you.  Tell  Alf  to  \n  careful  of 
his  health.  Your  father,  John  Fuller. 

+The  slates  had  been  marked  for  identification  by  Professor  Baldwin. 

'  The  writing  is  effaced  by  the  carelessness  of  persons  putting  their  fingers  on  it. 


176  PSYCHOGRAPHY 

John  Bain  is  here. 

My  kind  love  to  my  sister,  from  sister  in  spirit,  Emily  Dvvight. 

My  Dear  Son  : — I  wish  you  much  joy  and  happiness- 

Your  mother,  CATHERINE  Debney. 

Tell  dear  mother  and  father  that  I  am  with  them  to-night. 

Adelaide  M.  Williams. 

Yes,    I   am   here,    and    am    pleased   to   say  that  your  efforts  in  that  * will  l)e 

sticcessful  * .     From  your  father,  Richard  Dwight. 

My  Son:— I  am  with  you.  Your  father,  Richard  GuiLFOYLE. 

The  spirit  of  Johanna  Stewart  *- ,  also  the  spirit  of  Mary  Dunbar. 

James  Lamb  and  his  daughter,  Margaret,  are  here,  and  send  love  to  Mrs.  B  " ■ — 

mb. 

My  kind  wishes  to  my  family  and  friends.     From  Thomas  Bamford. 

The  spirits  of  Mary  Ellen  Hall  and  Thomas  B.  Hall  are  present,  and  wish  to  be  kindly 
remembered  to  their  loved  ones.     From  Mary  Ellen  Hall. 

My  Dear  Wife: — My  kind  love  to  you.     From  your  husband, 

James  Fletcher. 

James  Gill  is  here. 

My  love  to  my  children  and  wife.      From  your  husband,  Wm.  P.  Walker. 

Also  from  your  father,  JOHN  DuNBAR. 

My  Dear  Daughter:— I  am  glad  to  meet  you 
spirit. 

Sarah  M'Giffin  sends  love. 

Dear  James:— I  am  joined  with  mother  and  father  in  sending  love  to  you.  Your 
loving  sister,  Jane  Porteous. 

Dear   Sister: — Your  patience  will  soon  be  rewarded.     Love  to  all. 

Harry  Creswick. 

Friends  of  the  Earth  Plane:— I  have  assisted  many  of  your  spirit  friends  to  write, 
therefore  you  will  thus  account  for  the  similarity  of  many  of  the  hand-writings.  Many  of  you, 
no  doubt,  wonder  why  there  is  so  much  of  the  sameness  in  the  tone  of  these  messages — 
because  many  of  the  messages  are  written  by  proxy,  and  private  matters  are  generally 
excluded  in  seances  of  this  kind.  Besides,  each  communication  must  be  condensed  as  much  as 
possible  tc,  allow  as  many  spirits  as  possible  to  acknowledge  their  presence.  Hoping  this  will 
bring  many  of  you  to  further  investigate  SpiritiiaUsm,  I  remain  your  well-wisher.  Medium  s 
guide,  John  Gray. 

Mt  Dear  Bob:— My  best  love  to  you  and  Laura.  My  love  to  the  children.  Your 
wife  in  spirit,  Annik  Crooke. 

The  following  communications  were  acknowledged  by  the  persons  they 
were  addressed  to,  or  friends  who  knew  the  communicants,  viz.:  H.  Sellers, 
M.   Bond,    R.    R.   Martin,   M.   Melville,  G.   \V.   Praagst,  F.  Bond,    Richard 

Russell,  Hall,  M.  Browne,  T.   Bamford,  W.   Mary,  J.  and   P.  Hall, 

Jas.    Fletcher,   W.   P.   Walker,  David  Williams,  Sarah  M'Giffin,  J.  Porteous, 

H.   Creswick,   H.   Crook,  J.   Bell,  J.    Dobson,  Lamb,   Maner,   A.   M. 

Williams,  C.  Debney,  R.  Dwight,  M.  Foster.  The  members  of  the 
committee  testified  that  the  slates  were  perfectly  blank  when  placed  in  their 
hands. 

Mr.  Terry  said  it  had  been  announced  that  Mr.  Evans  would  demonstrate 
the  phenomena  of  psychography,  or  direct  spirit   writing.     Though  this  was 

•  The  writing  is  effaced  by  the  carelessness  of  persons  putting  their  fingers  on  it. 


AT    IIOKTUULTUUAI,     IIAl.l.,    M  KI.IiOUKN  F.  177 

more  than  Mr.  Evans  had  promised,  it  had  been  fully  accomplished.  Not 
only  had  writing  been  obtained  on  the  slates  in  charge  of  the  committee,  but 
upon  slates  furnished  by  Mr.  Baldwin,  the  conjurer  and  exposer  (?)  or 
imitator  of  spirit  phenomena,  these  slates  being  retained  by  the  gentleman 
who  had  been  intrusted  with  them  by  Mr.  Baldwin  during  the  whole  time. 
In  addition  to  this  there  were  some  twenty  or  thirty  persons  present  who 
had  recognized  and  identified  the  communicating  spirits.  The  chairman's 
remarks  and  a  few  words  from  Mr.  Evans  to  the  same  effect,  were  received 
with  applause.  Those  persons  who  had  received  messages  were  invited  to 
come  on  the  platform  to  inspect  them,  and  eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunity  to  do  so.  The  slates  were  subsequently  on  view  at  Mr.  Bamford's, 
Little  Collins  Street. 

The  whole  seance  was  of  a  clear  and  decisive  character,  and  trans- 
cended anything  of  the  kind  which  has  occurred  here. 

We  extract  from  the  Ilarhinc^er  of  Light,  of  May,  1889, 
the  following  from  its  well-known  editor  : 

TRANSCENDENTAL  PHOTOGRAPHY. 

REMARKABLE  PHENOMENA  THROUGH  MR.  EVANS. 

For  six  weeks  past  I  have  had  periodical  sittings  with  Mr.  Evans,  with 
the  view  of  obtaining  permanent  proof  of  the  passage  of  matter  through  matter. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  fourth  sitting,  held  on  the  twelfth  of  April,  I  was  told 
by  the  spirit  guide,  John  Gray,  to  bring  a  pair  of  slates  with  me  the  next  time. 
Easter  holidays  intervening,  I  did  not  go  up  for  my  fifth  sitting  till  the  twenty- 
sixth,  when,  being  busy  till  past  the  usual  time,  I  hurried  away  with  my  boxes 
containing  the  objects  to  be  acted  upon,  but  forgot  the  slates.  It  was  not 
known,  either  by  myself  or  Mr.  Evans,  for  what  purpose  these  were  wanted, 
but,  as  I  could  not  go  back  for  them,  two  new  slates  were  taken  from  Mr. 
Evans'  stock,  and  after  being  wetted  and  rubbed  with  a  small  duster,  under 
my  immediate  supervision,  a  piece  of  slate  pencil  was  put  between  them,  an 
elastic  band  round  them,  and  they  were  laid  on  the  table  against  the  small 
boxes  on  which  my  hands  rested.  We  conversed  on  various  topics  (Mr.  Evans 
sitting  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  table)  for  about  twenty  minutes,  the  slates 
not  being  touched  by  either  of  us.  At  the  end  of  that  time  Mr.  Evans  reached 
across  the  table,  took  the  band  off  the  slates,  and  with  a  look  of  pleasurable 
surprise  exclaimed,  "  A  spirit  photograph."  All  that  appeared  visible  to  me 
at  first  glance  was  a  glazed  square  about  4x5  in  the  middle  of  the  slate,  with 


178  PSVClIOGRArHY. 

writing  all  round.  On  holding  it  to  the  light,  however,  three  distinct  forms 
were  visible.  One  of  them  I  almost  immediately  recognized  as  D.  D.  Home, 
the  celebrated  English  medium;  the  others  I  did  not  recognize. 

Here  was  a  marvel.  Not  only  had  the  shadows  of  these  forms  been  cast 
by  some  mysterious  process  on  the  interior  of  the  closed  slate,  but  the  chem- 
ical and  varnishing  matter  had  also  been  introduced  and  used  in  a  space  not 
exceeding  the  quarter  of  an  inch,  whilst  the  rims  of  the  slates  fitted  so 
close  together  as  to  exclude  the  introduction  of  a  sheet  of  white  paper.  The 
messages  around  the  picture  are  from  four  relatives,  and  one  from  John  Gray, 
the  guide,  which  reads:  "  Friend  Terry,  we  have  given  you  this  as  a  test  of 
spirit  power."  The  picture  appears  to  be  the  work  of  the  artist  who  generally 
draws  or  paints  through  Mr.  Evans,  having  his  signature  in  the  corner,  "St. 
Clair."  There  are  four  names  written  upside  down  on  the  top  of  the  picture, 
one  being  D.  D.  Home's,  but  the  others  do  not  appear  to  belong  to  the 
portraits.     On  the  lower  slate  was  the  following  message: 

Friend  Terry: — Owing  to  the  peculiar  atmosplieric  changes  in  your  climate,  we  have 
found  it  very  difficult  to  succeed  in  giving  you  either  the  Ring  or  Leather  test.  We  have  first 
to  dissolve  the  material  in  order  to  encircle  them  together.  Twice  have  we  succeeded  in 
accomplishing  our  end,  but  at  the  final  the  parts,  instead  of  remaining  united,  have  dissolved  again 
into  their  former  state.  But  if  you  will  have  sufficient  patience  to  sit,  I  am  satisfied  that  we 
will  eventually  accomplish  those  tests.  Your  friend,  John  Gray. 

Any  photographic  expert  or  press  representative  may  see  this  remarkable 
production  at  the  office  of  this  paper.  \V.   H.  Terry. 

A  SEALED  LETTER  ANSWERED. 

The  following  is  extracted  from  the  Harbinger  of  Light, 
Melbourne,  relative  to  the  experience  of  one  of  Melbourne's 
well-known  and  respected  citizens : 

In  October  last  Mr.  Creasy  sent  a  sealed  letter  to  Fred  Evans  containing 
four  questions,  to  be  replied  to  from  the  spirit  world.  The  letter  was  placed 
between  slates  by  Mr.  Evans,  and  the  replies  written  thereon  transcribed  to 
paper  and  returned  to  Mr.  Creasy,  who  informs  us  that  the  questions  were 
responded  to  by  a  friend  who  passed  to  spirit  world  some  two  years  since,  but 
whose  name  was  not  mentioned  in  the  letter.  Other  information  is  given,  to 
which  the  letter  would  give  no  clue  were  it  either  opened  or  read  tlairvoyantly 
by  the  medium. 


DEPARTURE  FROM  MELBOURNE. 

^T'%R.  FRED  EVANS  gave  his  final  seance  in  Melbourne 
\T/  on  the  tenth  of  May,  1889,  and  on  the  thirteenth, 
accompanied  by  Mrs.  Evans  and  Mrs.  T.  Harris,  left 
for  Sydney  by  the  afternoon  express.  Quite  a  number  of 
friends  were  present  to  bid  them  good-bye,  and  kindly  wishes 
for  their  welfare  were  freely  expressed. 

At  the  last  sitting  had  by  the  editor  of  the  Harbinger  of 
Light  with  Mr.  Evans  (April  gih),  twelve  signatures  of  friends 
and  relatives  were  written  on  a  slate  which  lay  on  the  table 
untouched  by  the  medium.  These  signatures  were  all  different 
from  the  hand-writing  of  the  control  or  Mr.  Evans,  and  five  of 
them  bear  a  very  close  resemblance  to  the  hand-writings  of  the 
persons  whom  they  profess  to  come  from. 

An  intimate  friend  of  the  editor  of  the  above  named 
journal,  who  is  an  old  colonist  and  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
furnished  that  gentleman  with  the  following  particulars  of  a 
seance  he  had  with  Mr.  Evans,  where  he  obtained  the  following 
absolute  proof  of  direct  spirit  writing  : 

On  the  twenty-ninth  of  April  he  went  to  Mr.  Evans  for  a  sitting,  taking 
with  him  a  pair  of  book-slates,  which  he  had  wrapped  up  in  brown  paper  and 
securely  tied.  Before  the  seance  he  told  Mr.  Evans  what  the  parcel  con- 
tained, but  said  he  did  not  think  it  worth  while  to  open  it,  as  he  was  satisfied 
to  use  Mr.  Evans'  own  slates.  He  had  quite  a  satisfactory  sitting,  getting 
messages  from  several  friends  who  had  passed  on.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
seance  he  took  up  the  parcel  containing  the  slates,  remarking  that  he  might 
as  well  take  them  home  (his  only  reason  for  bringing  them  being  that  it  was 
more  satisfactory  to  friends  with  whom  he  might  be  conversing  about  the 
phenomena).  Mr.  Evans  told  him  to  stay  a  minute,  and  hold  the  parcel  in 
his  right  hand.  He  did  so,  and  in  a  short  time  heard  writing  going  on  inside. 
He  was  about  to  open  the  parcel,  when  Mr.  Evans  stopped  him,  telling  him 


180  PSYCHOGRAPHV. 

that  possibly  more  might  be  written  after  he  left.  On  arriving  home  and 
opening  the  parcel  our  friend  found  three  messages  on  the  slates,  signed  by 
three  separate  relatives. 

If  any  more  evidence  were  wanted  to  overthrow  the 
"  masked  slate  "  theory,  the  following  testimonial  from  nineteen 
persons  (several  of  them  prominent  citizens)  who  have  obtained 
writing  on  their  own  closed  slates,  would  be  a  clincher. 

Melbourne,  Victoria,  Australia,  May  8,  1889. 

We,  the  undersigned,  do  hereby  testify  that  we  and  each  of  us  have 
investigated  the  phenomenon  of  independent  slate-writing,  occuring  through  the 
mediumship  of  Mr.  Fred  Evans,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  U.  S.  A.,  and  have 
obtained  writing  on  the  inner  surfaces  of  slates  that  we  and  each  of  us  have 
furnished  ourselves,  and  which  were  not  for  a  moment  permitted  to  leave  our 
sight. 

The  messages  appearing  thereon  were  always  signed  by  the  names  of  our 
departed  relatives  and  friends,  and  information  given  that  we  are  sure  the 
medium  could  not  have  had  any  previous  knowledge  of  whatever. 

Whilst  many  of  us  are  not  Spiritualists,  yet  we  and  each  of  us  agree  that 
the  messages  appearing  between  our  slates  were  placed  there  by  some  invisible 
intelligent  power,  independent  of  the  medium. 

SIGNATURES. 

John  Williams,  Grain  Dealer,  Stock  Street,  Coburg,  Victoria. 

Edwin  Gill,  Justice  of  Peace,  Balaclava,  Victoria. 

Jannes  T.  Praagst,  Government  Land  Office,  E.  Melbourne,  Victoria. 

R.  Stewart,  Esq.,  Bourke  Street,  Melbourne,  Victoria. 

Charles  C.  Bell,  Esq.,  4  Gordon  Terrace,  Mary  Street,  St.  Kilda,  Victoria. 

John  Carson,  Esq.,  Kew,  Victoria. 

W.  B.  Rodier,  Justice  of  Peace,  "  Rougemont,"  St.  James'  Park,  Hawthorn. 

John  Henshaw,  Manufacturer,  Council  Street,  Clifton  Hill,  Victoria. 

Thomas  Martin,  Manufacturer,  122  Rokeby  Street,  Collingwood,  Victoria. 

Richard  Bond,  Builder,  Carpenter  Street,  Middle  Brighton,  Victoria. 

Wm.  Overton,  Esq. 

John  Melville,  Accountant,  24  Shiel  Street,  N.  Melbourne,  Victoria. 

William  Jackson,  Builder,  Armadale,  Victoria. 

E.  Sharpe,  Illawarra  Road,  Hawthorn,  Victoria. 

Daniel  Clay,  33  Michael  Street,  N.  Fitzroy,  \'ictoria. 

M.  Bond,  Middle  Brighton,  Victoria. 

William  Brown,  47  Napier  Street,  E.  Melbourne,  Victoria. 

K.  L.  Melville,  Shell  Street,  North  Melbourne,  Victoria. 

]•',.  Overton,  Melbourne,  Victoria. 


DEPARTURE    FROM    MELBOURNE.  181 


WHAT  A  BROTHER  OF  SENATOR  STANFORD  SAYS. 


The  following  testimonial  from  Thomas  W.  Stanford,  of 
Melbourne,  Australia  (brother  of  our  Senator  Stanford),  a 
careful  student,  speaks  for  itself: 

Mr.  Fred  Evans — Dear  Sir: — As  you  are  about  to  depart  from  our 
shores  and  return  to  the  land  from  whence  I,  too,  came,  I  have  thought  a  few 
lines  from  me  might  be  of  service  to  you,  as  well  as  a  pleasing  memento  of  my 
personal  friendship  and  appreciation  of  your  straight-forward  conduct  in  this 
city. 

I  have  much  pleasure  in  stating,  and  with  much  emphasis,  to  whom  it 
may  concern  (and  you  are  at  liberty  to  use  this  letter  as  you  please),  that  I 
have  had  several  professional  "sittings"  with  you,  and  that,  without  asking 
for  special  test  conditions,  you  have  given  me  the  best  possible  proof  of  writing 
within  closed  slates  without  physical  contact  with  yourself. 

I  would  advise  those  who  take  an  interest  in  occult  force,  either  in  con- 
nection with,  or  apart  altogether  from  Spiritualism,  to  have  one  or  more 
"sittings"  with  you,  to  note  the  result  carefully,  and  then  put  their  wits  to 
solve  the  mystery  (?). 

Trusting  yourself  and  Mrs.  Evans  may  have  a  pleasant  voyage  home,  and 
retain  pleasant  memories  of  your  visit  to  Australia,  I  remain  sincerely  yours, 

Thomas  W.  Stanford. 

Melbourne,  May  ii,  1889. 


-^5^^^ 


MR.  FRED  EVANS  IN   SYDNEY. 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS  TO  MR.  FRED  EVANS. 


Sydney,  N.  S.  \V.,  Australia,  September  i,  1889.) 

HE  following   address    was  presented  to  Mr.   Evans,  at 

a  farewell  social  tendered  to  him  and   Mrs.  Evans  by  a 

committee   of  his    friends   and    admirers,    and   held    on 

Wednesday  last,  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.   Peryman,  L'Avenall, 

Newtown,  Sydney  : 

To  Fred  Evans,  Esq.,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.,  U.  S.  A. 

Dear  Sir  and  Friend: — We,  the  undersigned,  have  great  pleasure  in 
bearing  testimony  to  your  thorough  genuineness  as  a  medium  for  independent 
slate-writing.  We  are  satisfied  that  the  manifestations  of  spirit  or  direct 
writing  witnessed  by  us  through  your  mediumship  were  beyond  the  possibility 
of  fraud  or  deception.  Indeed,  words  cannot  express  a  too  firm  conviction 
on  our  part  in  your  honesty,  integrity  and  uprightness  of  character,  and  this 
we  say  in  face  of  the  libels  of  the  Brisbane  Telegraph,  and  the  utterly  false 
and  reckless  statements  of  unscrupulous  persons  respecting  yourself.  We 
look  upon  you,  esteemed  friend,  as  a  great  light  in  the  diffusion  of  the  grand 
and  glorious  truths  of  Spiritualism.  That  you  may  long  remain  in  this  sphere 
of  existence  to  perform  your  noble  mission  of  convincing  thousands  of 
the  practicability  of  communion  with  the  so-called  dead,  is  our  earnest  wish. 

We  regret  that  your  stay  in  Sydney  will  probably  not  exceed  three  months, 
but  we  trust  that  at  some  future  time  you  will  make  another  visit  to  our  city. 
We  assure  you  that  you  and  your  respected  lady  will  carry  away,  on  your 
departure  from  Australia,  the  hearty  good  wishes  of  a  large  circle  of  friends. 
With  kind  regards  we  beg  to  subscribe  ourselves. 

Yours  faithfully  and  fraternally, 
J  James  Kingsbury,  M.  D.,  Church  Street,  Newtown.  Sydney,  N.  S.  W 

*  Alfred  Edwards,  Colonial  Architect's   Office.  " 
I  Alex.  Tucker,  Gov.  Inspect,  of  Post  and  Telegraph  Offices.    " 

John  Victor,  Justice  of  Peace.  " 

*  N.  Joubert,  Alderman,  Hunter's  Hill.  •' 
A.  Firth,  Secretary  North  Shore  Gas  Co. 

*  Alfred  Gale,  Postmaster,  Paddington.  " 


MR.    FKF.n    EVANS    IN    SYDNEY.  183 

*  E.  P.  Atwater,  M.  D.,  Newtown.  Sydnev,  N.  S.  W. 

*  A.  T.  Munro,  President  N.  S.  W.  Spiritualist  Association. 

*  H.  Chappel,  Real  Estate  and  Mining,  52  Sydney  Arcade. 

*  \V.  H.  Murrell,  Tea  Merchant,  409  Kent  Street.  "  " 

*  J.  H.  Smith,  Merchant,  302  George  Street. 

*  Charles  Coghill,  Builder  and  Contractor,  Oxford  Street. 

■f"  S.  Kingsbury,  Church  Street,  Newtown.  " 

Henry  Gale,  Post  Office,  Paddington. 
Thomas  Peters,  Merchant  Draper,  William  Street.  "  " 

*  A.  Horsepool,  66  Edith  Street,  Leichardt. 

*  R.  M.  O'Connell,  8  Lonsdale  Terrace,  John  Street. 
I  A.  H.  Hatfield,  Land  and  Commission  Agent,  106 

Abercrombie  Street.  "  " 

*  E.  James,  145  Victoria  Street.  "  '* 

*  E.  Hansen,  Glebe. 

t  F.  E.  S.  Hewison,  93  Morehead  Street.  "  " 

Although  much  debilitated  by  the  climate,  and  from  the 
accident  that  befell  him  at  Brisbane,  the  same  success  attended 
him  at  Sydney  as  at  Melbourne  and  Brisbane. 

Of  his  success  at  Sydney  the  Harbinger  of  Light  says  : 
Since  the  cessation  of  rains  and  floods  at  Sydney,  Mr.  Evans  has  been 
fully  occupied  with  sitters,  but  he  complains  of  the  want  of  sympathy  shown 
by  the  majority  of  his  so-called  Spiritualist  visitors,  who  are  more  exacting  in 
their  demands  than  some  hardened  skeptics.  Amongst  those  who  have 
obtained  writings  on  their  own  slates  (mostly  tied  or  screwed  together)  are  the 
following:  Mr.  H.  Hocking,  George  Street;  Dr.  James  Kingsbury,  John 
Hodgson,  Esq.,  Mayor  of  Bowral;  Dr.  E.  Atwater,  VV.  Murrell,  W.  J. 
Allen,  Esq.,  Ex.  M.  L.  A.;  Mrs.  Hyslop,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fizzell,  Mrs.  H. 
Gale,  Mrs.  James,  Mrs.  Thompson,  Mr.  R.  Smith,  Mr.  A.  R.  VVinckler,  Mr. 
Henderson  (Richmond  River).  Mr.  H.  Copeland,  M.  L.  A.,  had  a  pair  of 
board-back  slates,  made  and  fastened  with  a  patent  combination  keyless  lock, 
the  method  of  opening  which  was  only  known  to  himself.  Under  these 
circumstances  he  obtained  three  messages  on  his  slates. 

Mr.  Copeland  is  Member  of  Parliament  for  Sydney,  N .  S.W., 
and  obtained  a  message  from  his  father,  mother,  and  brother  in 
his  own  locked  slates  that  he  had  made  to  order  for  the  occasion. 

"  Obtained  satisfactory  writing  upon  their  own  slates. 

t  Obtained         "  '"      upon  their  own  corded  slates. 

{Obtained         "  "      upon  their  own  screwed  slates. 


HE  CONFOUNDS  THE  JUGGLERS. 


WHILE  at  Sydney,  near  the  close  of  his  work  in  the 
colonies,  Mr.  Evans  returned  to  Brisbane  to  confound 
the  juggler,  Patterson,  and  his  aiders  and  abettors. 
He  had  intimated  his  intention  of  returning  there  before 
leaving  Australia.  The  Telegraph  said  he  would  not.  But, 
like  other  honorable  men,  Mr.  Evans  fulfilled  his  promise,  and 
proved  the  TelegrapJis  prediction,  like  their  statements  with 
regard  to  his  psychic  gifts,  to  be  false.  Following  is  the 
account  of  his  success,  referred  to  heretofore,  as  copied  from  the 
Harbinger  of  Light : 

He  reached  Brisbane  on  the  first  of  August,  and  the  following  day 
announced  that  on  the  Sunday  evening  following  he  would  offer  his  services 
free  for  experiments  in  psychography,  in  the  Centennial  Hall.  It  was  a  wet 
and  stormy  night,  the  rain  coming  down  in  torrents;  nevertheless,  an 
intelligent  and  representative  audience  of  nearly  three  hundred  attended. 
Mr.  W.  Widdop,  J.  P.,  presided,  and  briefly  introduced  Mr.  Evans,  who 
requested  the  audience  to  select  a  committee  by  vote  to  conduct  the 
experiments,  when  the  following  were  chosen: 

Mr.  P.  R.  Gordon,  Government  Inspector  of  Sheep;  Mr.  Tolson,  Mrs. 
Judd,  Mr.  Ranniger,  Mrs.  Castles.  A  bucket  of  water  was  placed  at  the 
front  of  the  platform,  and  the  slates  to  be  used  were  placed  in  the  bucket  in 
full  view  of  the  audience.  These  were  separately  washed  and  dried,  the 
chairman  placing  a  piece  of  pencil  between  each  pair  of  them,  and  handing 
them  to  the  committee  to  hold.  After  holding  them  for  a  considerable  time, 
one  of  the  committee  said  he  heard  writing  going  on  between  his  slates — then 
Mr.  Ranniger  and  Mr.  Widdop  also  heard  the  same,  and,  on  the  slates  being 
opened,  twelve  messages  were  found  on  them,  the  signatures  to  the  messages 
being  in  several  instances  recognized  by  persons  in  the  audience. 

Mr.  Evans  then  challenged  any  one  to  test  the  writing  for  chemicals.  A 
simple  experiment  in  this  direction  was  made  by  washing  off  part  of  the  writing 
on  one  of  the  slates  to  see  whether  it  would  reappear  when  dry — as  it  would 
if  chemically  produced — but  it  did  not.  At  Mr.  Evans'  suggestion  the  plat- 
form (on  which  there  was  no  table  or  screen)  was  thoroughly  examined  by  the 
committee  and  reported  free  from  any  paraphernalia,  all  that  was  on  or  about 
it  being  the  chairs  used  by  the  committee,  the  bucket  of  water,  and   eight 


HF.    CONKOUNDS    THE    JUGGI.EKS.  185 

slates;  the  slates  remained  in  possession  of  the  committee,  and  were  handed 
round  amongst  the  audience,  who  obliterated  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
messages  in  personal  experiments.  The  experiments  were  highly  satisfactory 
in  every  particular,  and  Mr.  Evans  was  frequently  applauded.  The  Courier 
and  Observer  report  the  proceedings  fairly,  though  they  understate  the  attend- 
ance, but  the  Telegraph  is  silent,  which  is  significant. 

Whilst  staying  at  Brisbane  Mr.  Evans  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  Phippard, 
contractor,  who,  being  about  to  remove  his  family  to  Sydney,  had  made 
arrangements  to  do  so  on  Tuesday,  August  6th.  On  the  afternoon  of  that 
day,  shortly  before  the  house  was  vacated,  Mr.  Evans  was  surprised  to  receive 
a  visit  from  four  of  the  committee  who  conducted  the  experiments  of  the  pre- 
vious Sunday.  They  informed  him  that  as  soon  as  he  left  it  was  the  intention 
of  Mr.  Patterson  to  take  exception  to  the  conclusiveness  of  the  tests  then 
obtained,  on  the  ground  that  Mr.  Evans  had  furnished  the  slates,  and  requested 
Mr.  Evans  to  give  them  a  seance  there  and  then,  and  obtain  writing  on  two 
slates  they  had  brought  with  them. 

Mr.  Evans  at  first  declined,  but  seeing  that  their  object  was  a  good  one 
he  assented,  and  the  whole  party  retired  into  an  empty  room,  and  the  four 
members  of  the  committee,  holding  the  two  slates  in  their  own  hands,  obtained 
several  messages  on  them,  some  of  the  messages  being  signed  by  relatives  of 
the  persons  holding  them.  The  room  did  not  contain  one  particle  of  fiirni- 
ture,  and  the  slates  brought  by  the  cornmittee  never  left  their  si^ht  from  the 
time  of  their  arrival  till  the  cotnpletion  of  the  messages. 

No  more  complete  test  than  the  above  could  possibly  be  given.  The 
Pattersonian  expose  vanishes  before  it  into  thin  air;  but  there  is  little  hope  of 
the  truth  of  the  matter  being  promulgated  over  the  ground  where  the  false- 
hood has  been  assiduously  spread  by  Mr.  Evans'  detractors  and  the  enemies 
of  Spiritualism. 

The  four  members  of  the  committee  who  obtained  this  last  test  were  Mr. 
P.  R.  Gordon,  Government  Inspector  of  Sheep;  Mr.  J.  Tolson;  Mrs.  Castles, 
wife  of  Mr.  \V.  Castles,  J.  P.;  Mrs.  Judd,  wife  of  Manager  for  Scott,  Dawson, 
&  Stewart. 

Mrs.  Castles  and  Mrs.  Judd  have'each  written  reports  of  the  seance, 
from  which  we  glean  the  following  additional  particulars,  viz. :  the  slates  were 
purchased  expressly  for  the  occasion  from  Gordon  &  Gotch's,  Queen  Street. 
They  were  washed,  dried,  and  marked  by  Mr.  Joshua  Bailey,  J.  P.,  tied 
together  with  string,  and  were  in  the  same  condition  when  the  seance  com- 
menced. Mrs.  Judd,  who  carried  the  slates,  testifies  that  they  never  left  her 
possession  from  the  time  of  tying  up  until  the  parcel  was  opened,  when  the 
seance  began. 


LETTER   FROM  JENNY  WREN. 


'HE  following  account  of  a  farewell  social,  given  to  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Evans  at  Sydney,  is  from  the  pen  of  a  gifted 
lady  writer  present,  whose  nom  de  pliuiic  is  "Jenny 
Wren,"  and  published  in  the  Harbinger  of  Light : 

The  joint  committees  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  tendered  the  social 
had  decided  to  express  their  regard  for  our  friends  by  making  them  a  handsome 
presentation. 

A  beautifully  framed  illuminated  address  was  therefore  presented  to  Mr. 
Evans  by  Dr.  James  Kingsbury,  on  behalf  of  the  Spiritualists  of  Sydney.  In 
reply  to  this  gentleman's  able  and  eloquent  address,  Mr.  Evans  (who  was 
looking  far  from  well)  replied  very  feelingly  as  follows: 

"  Mr.  Ch.^irman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — I  thank  you  most  sincerely 
for  these  pleasing  tokens  of  your  esteem  and  good-will.  Not  only  will  they 
enable  me  to  carry  back  to  California  a  pleasing  memento  of  my  visit  to 
Sydney,  but  they  will  give  me  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  my  work  here 
has  been  gratefully  appreciated  by  those  who  have  had  seances  with  me,  as  is 
proven  to-night  by  these  presentations  and  demonstrations  of  good  feeling 
towards  me. 

"While  I  naturally  look  forward  with  pleasure  to  my  return  to  San 
Francisco,  and  the  friends  whom  I  know  are  waiting  to  welcome  me,  I  feel 
that  I  am  leaving  a  sufficient  number  of  good  and  true  friends  behind  me  in 
Australia  to  induce  me  to  again  visit  your  colonies  at  no  distant  date. 

"  I  am  pleased  to  see  many  faces  here  to-night  whom  I  know  my  advent 
in  Sydney  first  brought  to  investigate  the  claims  of  Spiritualism;  and  that  they 
have  found  sufficient  proof  to  enable  them  to  know  that  Spiritualism  is  a  mighty 
truth,  is  instanced  by  the  hearty  manner  in  which  they  have  worked  to  bring 
their  social  to  a  successful  issue. 

"  It  is  not  my  province  to  preach  spiritual  truth  from  the  platform,  but 
rather  to  demonstrate  its  phenomena  through  the  influence  of  my  guides;  yet 
I  must  just  here  attest  its  power  and  beauty  to  elevate  and  ennoble  all  life, 
and  confer  the  blessing  of  the  knowledge  of  the  continued  existence  of  our 
loved  ones,  and  the  possibility  of  their  communion  with  us  by  various  means. 
This  truth  will  surely  tend  to  purify  our  lives,  because  no  man  feeling  that 
those  who  are  so  dear  to  him  in  spirit-life  are  watching  his  actions,  reading 


I.ETTEK    KROM    JKNNY    WRKN.  187 

his  motives,  and  rejoicing  in  his  progress,  could  wantonly  or  willfully  commit 
those  sins  that  would  grieve  these  loving  friends,  and  tend  to  separate  him 
from  their  gentle  influence. 

"  I  will  not  detain  you  longer  from  the  pleasures  so  liberally  provided  by 
our  hostess,  but  again  express  my  deep  sense  of  your  kind  appreciation,  and 
my  desire  to  clasp  hands  with  you  again  at  no  distant  period." 

Amid  prolonged  applause  Mr.  Evans  took  his  seat,  when  Mr.  Firth  rose, 
and,  in  a  humorous  speech,  announced  the  pleasure  he  felt  in  presenting  Mrs. 
Evans,  on  behalf  of  the  committee,  with  a  handsome  gold  watch,  as  a 
memento  of  regard  from  the  Spiritualists  of  Sydney. 

The  watch  was  engraved  with  the  monogram,  "A.  E.,"  and  a  neat 
inscription.  Mrs.  Evans,  who  looked  truly  interesting  in  her  elegant  costume, 
and  who  seemed  almost  overcome  with  emotion,  rose  to  acknowledge  the 
tribute  so  lovingly  tendered  by  the  friends  whose  respect  she  had  won  during 
her  stay  in  Sydney. 

She  said,  in  tones  whose  quiet  dignity  impressed  me  with  the  deep 
feeling  that  caused  her  to  look  like  a  pure  white  lily  receiving  the  ovation  of 
the  flowers,  "  Dear  friends,  your  kindness  to-night  almost  overcomes  me; 
there  are  no  words  in  which  I  can  express  my  sense  of  appreciation  and 
sincere  regard.  I  always  wish  that  in  traveling  from  place  to  place  I  did  not 
attach  myself  so  deeply  to  those  I  meet,  as  this  feeling  of  affection  involves  the 
pain  of  parting,  and  always  causes  deep  regret.  I  do  not  simply  form  a  liking 
for  those  I  call  my  friends — I  love  them  deeply  and  truly;  and  so  I  feel 
to-night,  as  I  accept  your  kind  and  generous  present,  that  so  many  more  links 
are  formed  between  my  life  and  yours,  and  I  regret  that  I  must  say  good-bye. 
There  is  in  every  true  woman's  heart  a  sacred  place  that  none  but  a  mother 
can  occupy;  next  to  the  husband  there  is  none  so  dear — no  one  can  fill  that 
vacant  place.  So  that  even  while  I  am  happy  with  my  husband  in  his 
mission,  and  love  all  the  friends  who  so  kindly  extend  their  sympathy  to  him, 
my  heart  turns  fondly  toward  home  and  mother.  I  have  no  words  to  tell 
you  how  much  I  appreciate  your  kindness  to  both  of  us,  but  to  thank  you 
very  much,  and  say  that  I  shall  ever  remember  with  pleasure  my  visit  to 
Sydney  and  the  kindness  of  the  friends  here.  I  hope  that  the  desire  my 
husband  has  expressed  may  be  fulfilled,  and  that  erelong  we  may  be  allowed 
to  revisit  the  Australian  colonics,  and  clasp  your  hands  in  greeting." 

The  social  was  a  pronounced  success,  the  arrangements  perfect,  and  the 
enjoyment  of  the  evening  unalloyed.  Dancing  was  kept  up  until  an  early  hour, 
when  the  guests  separated,  to  meet  again  on  the  Wednesday  following,  on  board 
the  "  Lobelia,"  which  had  been  kindly  lent  by  Mr.  Joubert  for  the  purpose  of 
enabling    the    friends    to    follow    the    "Alameda"  as    far    as    the    Heads. 


188  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

Accordingly  we  all  mustered  at  the  time  appointed — three  p.  u. — and  accom- 
panied the  tender  to  the  "Alameda."  We  went  on  board,  inspected  the 
state  cabin,  social  hall,  etc.,  and  bade  a  final  farewell  to  our  esteemed 
friends,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fred  Evans. 

Mr.  Evans  had  been  very  unwell  all  the  preceding  week,  and  looked 
very  pale;  but  his  earnest  hand-shake  brought  tears  to  our  eyes  as  we  realized 
how  truly  we  had  received  "  visits  from  angels"  through  his  excellent  medium- 
ship,  and  what  a  really  noble  character  he  possessed.  With  hearty  cheers 
and  God-speed  we  at  last  left  the  fine  vessel,  Mrs.  Evans  waving  the  stars 
and  stripes  in  response  to  our  handkerchiefs,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  follow 
them.  So  we  parted,  and  the  unanimous  prayer  of  the  Spiritualists  in  the 
Australian  colonies  is:  "God  bless  Fred  Evans,  and  bring  him  and  his 
loving  wife  safely  hither  again."  Jenny  Wren. 

It  may  be  in  order  here  to  insert  a  charming-  little  farewell 
poem,  written  by  the  same  gifted  writer,  and  which  first  appeared 
in  the  Harbinger  of  Light  : 

FAREWELL  TO  MR.  AND  MRS.  FRED  EVANS. 


Farewell,   dear  brother-friend;  yes,  fare-tliee- 
well; 
Love's  faithful  guardians  speed  thy  way 
Home   to   the  "  Golden    Gate,  '  of  which    ye 
tell, 
To  the  sweet  "  summer  land's  "  more  tran- 
quil day. 

Dear  friends  await  thee  there  in  hope  to  meet 
thee. 
Fond  hands  outstretched  to  give  thee  loving 
cheer; 
But  we  who  prize  thy  worl;,  oh!  we  shall  miss 
thee. 
And  hold  these  sweet  mementos  very  dear. 


God   speed   thee,  brother,   on   thy  homeward 
journey; 
Fair  winds  and  sunny  skies  be  o'er  thy  head ; 
Prosperous  thy  mission  still  to  bless  the  many 
Who   long  for   tidings  from    the   so-called 
"deid." 
Dear  fellow-servant  of  the  truth  we  cherish, 
Our  hearts  are  all   too  full  to   say  "  good- 
bye; " 


Fond  memories  of  thy  love  can  never  perish— 
Immortal  as  our  lives,  they  ne'er  can  die. 

Be  of  good  cheer;  the  angel  guards  around  thee 
Will  never  fail  to  help  and  comfort  give; 

And  though  the  trials  of  earthly  life  surround 
thee. 
Thy  Father's  blessing  sweet  relief  shall  give. 

And  this  thy  joy,  to  comfort  human  sorrow, 

And  bid  the  mourner  dry  the  hopeless  tear. 
Since    we    shall    meet    again    on    that   glad 

When  every  brow  the  light   of  love  shall 


And  fare-thee-well,  dear  sister;   we  have  loved 
thee 

For  all  thy  gentle  kindness,  simple  grace; 
And  in  our  hearts  no  sweeter  memory  dwelleth 

Than  this  fair  recollection  of  thy  face. 
Go  with   thy  noble  husband,  and  God   bless 
thee; 

Sweet  angels  teach  thee  holy  truths  sublime. 
Until  in  perfect  joy  love's  soul  possess  thee. 

As  beauty's  sacred  laws  thy  life  entwine. 


STRONG  ENDORSEMENT. 


allARLES  P.  COCKS,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  V.,  writing  to  the 
editor  of  llaibingcr  of  Light,  has  this  to  say  of  Mr. 
Evans'  gifts: 

I  had  several  sittings  with  Mr.  Evans  when  I  visited  California,  in  the 
summer  of  1888.  They  were  very  satisfactory,  and  the  manifestations  were 
most  remarkable. 

I  brought  home  eight  slates  and  made  careful  notes  of  the  phenomena 
which  occurred  at  those  sittings;  and  in  taking  a  retrospective  view  of  the 
occurrences,  with  all  the  additional  light  and  corroborative  evidences,  the 
facts  remain  as  astounding  as  ever. 

The  tests  of  identity;  the  prophecies  since  fulfilled;  the  correct  answers 
to  my  inquiries,  together  with  their  marvelous  production  under  test  condi- 
tions, make  up  a  history  of  very  great  interest  to  me;  and  although  meeting 
the  psychic  then  for  the  first  time,  I  have  felt  ever  since  a  personal  interest  in 
his  success. 

I  have  investigated  the  phenomena  in  most  all  its  phases;  and  while  it  is 
often  difficult  to  draw  the  line  and  say  which  is  the  most  wonderful  and  impor- 
tant, still  I  am  inclined  to  think,  as  was  expressed  by  the  late  Epes  Sargent, 
that  independent  writing  forms  the  scientific  basis  of  S])iritualism. 

Very  respectfully  yours,  Charles  P.  Cocks. 

Brooklyn,  November  28,  1889. 

We  have  a  vast  amount  of  matter  at  our  disposal 
concerning  Mr.  Evans'  work  in  the  colonies  and  elsewhere, 
which  would  only  be  piling  proof  upon  proof,  and  might  be 
regarded  as  tiresome  from  its  cumulative  character.  The 
following  letter,  however,  written  by  H,  Mackay,  Esq., 
Surveyor-General  of  Queensland,  Australia,  to  W.  M.  Foster, 
Esq.,  Sydney  Street,  Mackay,  Queensland,  after  a  sitting  with 
Fred  Evans,  is  too  important  to  omit: 

Brisb.\ne,  Queensland,  December  29,  1888. 

My  Dear  FosrER: — I  will  excuse  you  for  no  doubt  thinking  me 
dilatory   in    the    matter    of    dropping    you    a    few    lines.     *     :•;     *     i  ^3.r\K. 


190  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

to  say  a  word  or  two  on  a  very  interesting  subject  which  occurred  to-day. 
I  had  a  sitting  with  Fred  Evans.  I  tallied  with  Judge  Paul  at  his  chambers 
yesterday  and  accompanied  him  down  to  Evans'  place,  to  whom  and  his  wife 
he  introduced  me,  and  made  an  appointment  for  to-day,  and  the  following  is 
what  happened: 

Evans  sat  opposite  to  me  at  a  plain  deal  table  (we  were  alone  in  a  small, 
well-lighted  room,  time  twelve  midday).  From  a  pile  of  small  slates  he  took 
one,  thoroughly  cleaned  it  on  both  sides  in  my  presence,  and  gave  it  to  me  to 
hold  edgewise.  After  a  minute  he  said  it  was  sufficiently  charged  with  magne- 
tism. He  then  took  another  slate,  cleaned  it,  and  gave  it  to  me  to  treat  in  the 
same  manner.  He  then  dropped  upon  the  first  one  a  few  grains  of  pencil, 
placed  the  other  slate  upon  it,  gave  both  into  my  charge  to  place  my  hands 
upon,  which  I  did,  and  continued  to  do  the  whole  time  of  the  sitting. 

He  next  took  another  slate,  going  through  the  same  operation  of 
wetting  and  rubbing  both  sides  clean,  dropped  a  few  grains  of  pencil  chips 
upon  the  clean  surface  of  the  table,  and  deposited  a  slate  immediately  over  it. 
He  did  the  same  with  yet  another,  placing  it  alongside  the  last  one,  and  then 
pushed  them  toward  me,  and  touching  the  double  ones  upon  which  I  had  my 
hands.  That  is  all  the  manipulation  he  did.  We  talked  on  various  subjects 
in  an  off-hand,  chatty  manner;  suddenly  two  or  three  times  his  eyes  appeared 
to  involuntarily  close,  when  he  would  ask  some  question  about  the  relationships 
of  some  spirit  which  he  could  not  clearly  understand.  He  told  me  there 
were  several  present,  and  giving  me  pencil  and  a  slip  of  paper,  asked  me  to 
write  some  names  upon  it.  I  did  not  expect  this  because  I  had  some 
prepared  questions  in  closed  envelopes  lying  on  the  slates  held  by  nie. 
However,  I  complied.  He  turned  his  head  and  I  wrote  merely  the  initials  of 
my  mother  and  two  of  my  brothers,  rolled  up  the  paper  and  held  it  in  my 
hand.  I  am  quite  positive  he  did  not  see  even  the  face  of  the  paper  upon 
which  I  had  written.  In  a  few  minutes  he  asked  me  if  I  had  a  brother 
named  William  who  had  passed  over,  because  the  spirit  standing  beside  me 
said  he  was  my  brother  William,  but  he  could  not  describe  him  minutely, 
owing  to  want  of  clearness  in  the  atmosphere — would  endeavor  to  do  so 
directly.  He  then  asked  me  if  I  had  a  wife  in  the  spirit  world.  I  said, 
"  No,"  upon  which  he  remarked  that  it  was  very  curious,  and  appeared  unable 
to  understand  something.  He  again  asked  me  (after  one  of  his  periods  of 
temporary  silence  with  closed  eyes)  if  I  had  a  departed  relative  named 
Elizabeth.  Again  my  reply  was  "No."  After  a  few  minutes  of  ordinary 
chat,  it  appeared  to  me  that  a  monitory  signal  was  received  by  him,  for  he 
put  out  his  hand  and  turned  over  the  slates  in  succession,  when,  to  my  intense 
astonishment,  the  whole  four  slates  were  written    upon,  one  of  them   quite 


STRONG    ENDORSEMENT.  191 

filled  with  small  writing;  in  fact,  a  fairly  long  letter  from  my  mother,  and 
signed  with  her  name,  and  the  corresponding  slate  which  covered  it  was 
about  half  filled  with  an  affectionate  letter  from  Mary  Mackay  (whom  I  don't 
know  at  all).  Upon  another  slate  was  a  communication  from  Evans'  guide, 
John  Gray,  saying  he  was  glad  to  have  the  pleasure  of  assisting  my  friends  to 
converse  with  me  and  could  not  do  more  to-day.  And  upon  the  fourth  slate 
was  a  short  letter  from  my  brother  William,  each  line  of  which  was  written  in 
a  different  color — green,  pink,  blue,  yellow — presenting  a  singular  appearance — 
firmly  and  clearly  written,  as,  in  fact,  they  all  were.  Evans  gave  me  the  slates 
to  take  away,  and  I  intend  to  preserve  them  as  long  as  possible. 

Now,  I  have  seen  what  I  have  long  desired,  and  from  henceforth  it  is 
impossible  for  me  to  maintain  the  attitude  of  scientific  negation  which  I  have 
up  to  the  present  assumed.  Whether  it  is  in  our  power  or  within  the  scope  of 
our  knowledge  to  deal  with  such  matters  as  this  letter  relates,  I  do  not  know, 
but  this  I  do  know:  facts  are  stubborn  things  and  "  Winna  ding,"  and 
what  I  have  written  herein  is  as  positive  a  fact  as  can  be  imagined,  and  no 
known  material  agency  can  produce  a  more  certam  one. 

\Vhy  should  we  deny  the  plain  existence  of  a  proved  effect  on  account  of 
our  ignorance  of  the  laws  which  produce  it.'  Well,  I  am  supplied  with  food 
for  much  reflection,  and  in  my  next,  when  I  have  time  to  spare,  I  will  revert 
to  the  subject,  and  bring  in  several  things  which,  until  this  moment,  escaped 
my  memory.  I  spoke  of  you  to  Evans,  and  he  appears  to  have  a  high  opinion 
of  you.  .And  now,  my  dear  friend,  I  will  say  good-night.  *  *  * 
Believe  me,  Yours  very  truly,  H.  Mackay. 

Mr.  Evans  returned  from  Australia  covered  with  honors, 
bringing  with  him  the  highest  endorsement  of  genuineness  of 
his  psychic  powers  from  scores  of  prominent  colonists.  The 
Australian  climate  he  found  unfavorable  to  the  best  results, 
except  by  an  excessive  drain  of  his  vital  forces.  While  in  the 
climate  of  San  Francisco  he  can  readily  give  from  eight  to  ten 
seances  per  day;  there,  from  four  to  five  was  all  he  could  endure. 


SLATE-WRITING  TESTS  NOT  IN  THE  DARK. 

Medium  Evans  recently  exhibited  his  powers  as  a  psychographic  medium 
to  an  Examiner  man,  and  did  not  demand  a  dark  room  as  one  of  the 
necessary  conditions.     Mediums  say  the  spirits  do  not  work  in  the  dark  as 


192  PSVCIIOGRAPHY. 

much   as  they    did,    because  they   have  become   better  acquainted    with  the 
natural  laws  which  govern  them. 

Evans  sat  at  one  side  of  a  small  table  and  the  newspaper  man  at  the 
other,  in  a  brilliantly-lighted  room.  On  the  floor  near  the  medium  was  a  pile 
of  small  school  slates.  Evans  took  one  of  the  slates  and  exhibited  both  sides. 
No  writing  could  be  seen  on  it.  He  moistened  it  with  saliva  and  wiped  it 
with  a  sponge,  placed  it  upon  the  table,  and  told  the  sitter  to  put  his  hands  on 
the  slate.  A  few  faint  raps  under  the  table  indicated  that  the  spirit  of  John 
Gray  was  present  and  getting  in  his  work  on  the  slate.  After  ten  minutes, 
during  which  time  the  sitter  had  not  removed  his  hand  from  the  slate,  the  slate 
was  turned  over  and  found  to  be  covered  with  writing,  which  was  signed  by 
John  Gray.  Another  slate,  treated  in  the  same  manner,  turned  up  with  a 
recognizable  portrait  of  U.  S.  Grant  and  a  message  signed  by  the  General. 
Eight  slates  were  used  during  the  seance,  and  writing  was  produced  upon  all 
of  them.  None  of  the  messages  were  written  by  Evans,  whose  hands  were 
otherwise  employed  all  the  time.  Whatever  may  be  the  method  of  producing 
the  messages,  it  is  certain  that  the  slates,  after  being  washed,  were  not  out  of 
the  newspaper  man's  hand  for  an  instant. — Daily  Examiner,  San  Francisco. 


I  ATTEND  A  SEANCE. 

The  mysterious  thing  about  the  affair  is  how  the  medium,  Evans,  got 
between  the  slates  to  do  the  writing.  At  the  time  the  slates  were  put  in  my 
possession  I  had  written  no  names  and  had  thought  of  no  names.  I  did  not 
know  I  was  expected  to  write  them.  But  the  truth  is  that  one  of  the  names 
written  by  me  appeared  on  a  slate,  which  no  one  but  myself  touched 
between  the  time  I  wrote  the  name  on  the  paper  and  the  times  the  slates  were 
opened.  I  do  not  know  how  it  was  done,  yet  I  state  but  the  facts. — 
Freeihought,  San  Francisco. 


LETTER  FROM  CHARLES  P.  COCKS. 

rrrilE  followinij  letter  from  Charles  P.  Cocks,  a  prominent 
<^|4  citizen  of  Brooklyn,  New  York,  written  to  the  Golden 
Gate,  will  be  valuable  in  this  connection: 

Editor  of  Golden  Ga/e:— The  late  Epes  Sargent,  who  was  esteemed  as 
a  writer  on  spiritual  matters,  has  stated  that  independent  writing  and  clairvoy- 
ance constitute  the  scientific  basis  of  Spiritualism. 

There  is  surely  no  difficulty  in  the  way  of  investigating  that  phase  of 
the  phenomena  called  independent  slate-writing,  as  it  can  be  scientifically 
demonstrated  so  as  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  the  results. 

While  practically  a  dark  cabinet  is  afforded  the  intelligences  in  which  to 
operate  between  the  closed  slates,  yet  the  surroundings  are  perfectly  light  for 
observation.  I  have  noted  the  following  facts  in  my  experiments  in  the 
presence  of  the  psychic,  viz.: 

That  the  invisible  intelligent  powers  operating  can  see  and  hear  what  any 
mortal  present  can  see  and  hear,  and,  more  than  that,  they  are  able  to  answer 
questions  which  are  written,  and  not  seen  by  the  medium;  and  even  mental 
questions.  The  controls  tell  us  that  we  are  not  to  infer  that  the  spirits  are 
infallible  by  any  means. 

If  a  spirit  comes  who  is  a  personal  friend  or  relative,  he  will  know  us. 
although  we  may  be  strangers  to  the  medium;  but  if  a  strange  spirit  comes, 
he  does  not  necessarily  come  in  so  close  rapport  as  to  be  able  to  tell  our 
name,  or  to  read  our  thought.  He  must  become  acquainted  very  much  as 
mortals  would. 

I  had  several  most  satisfactory  sittings  with  that  excellent  medium  for 
this  phase,  Mr.  Fred  Evans,  at  San  Francisco,  in  the  summer  of  1888.  I 
thought  this  an  excellent  opportunity  to  test  the  phenomena  while  sojourning 
in  a  strange  city  to  me,  more  than  three  thousand  miles  from  home. 

My  first  sitting  with  Mr.  Evans  was  on  Monday,  July  9,  1888.  On  my 
way  to  his  residence  I  purch.-ised  a  pair  of  double  slates  at  a  book  store, 
cleaned  them,  and  placed  a  private  mark  upon  them  there.  After  reaching 
his  residence,  I  was  courteously  received  by  him  and  invited  into  the  second- 
story  front  room  for  the  seance. 

We   were  entire  strangers  to   each  other,  never   having  met  before.      I 


194  PSYCIIOGRAPHY. 

wanted  test  conditions  as  far  as  possible,  so  did  not  mention  my  name.  The 
room  was  as  light  as  perfect  daylight  could  make  it,  and  there  was  no  one  else 
present,  as  mortals,  but  ourselves.  My  slates  were  the  first  used,  and  were 
never  out  of  my  sight  for  a  moment.  After  opening  them  on  the  table  we 
placed  our  hands  flat  upon  them  a  few  moments,  to  impart  magnetism. 

Then  after  placing  a  small  bit  of  pencil  upon  one,  he  closed  them  and 
placed  them  upon  the  carpeted  floor,  within  three  feet  of  me.  Then  he 
placed  a  small  clean  slate  before  me,  and  asked  me  to  write  the  names  of  two 
or  three  deceased  friends  on  a  slip  of  paper,  to  fold  it,  and  place  it  under  the 
said  slate.  I  did  so,  writing  the  name  of  my  father,  my  wife,  and  a  friend  of 
our  family,  who  passed  away  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  These,  of  course, 
were  not  seen  by  the  medium,  and  were  not  out  of  my  personal  possession. 
Then  we  joined  hands  over  the  table,  he  sitting  opposite  to  me.  After 
turning  the  slate  over  I  found  a  message  signed  John  Gray  (the  medium's 
control),  saying  substantially  that  I  possessed  good  powers  for  obtaining  writing 
if  I  would  only  develop  them. 

Light  raps  were  frequently  heard  on  the  table,  and  Mr.  Evans  announced 
that  my  wife  was  present.  He  also  announced  the  name  of  the  friend  that  I  had 
placed  upon  the  paper,  and  said  she  was  present,  but  too  weak  to  communicate 
as  she  desired  to.  He  then  reached  forward  and  wrote  on  a  slip  of  paper: 
"  My  son,  I  am  here,"  signing  my  father's  name  to  it.  This  was  written 
upside  down  to  him,  but  right  side  up  to  me. 

Be  it  understood,  that  when  I  placed  the  names  on  the  paper  under  the 
slate,  I  made  no  allusion  to  relationship,  nor  annexed  any  question.  While 
holding  my  hands  over  the  slate  I  felt  cold  currents  of  air  to  pass  over  them. 

After  he  informed  me  of  the  presence  of  my  wife,  I  asked  if  she  could 
give  me  her  maiden  name  as  a  test  of  identity.  (I  had  not  written  it  on  my 
paper,  only  the  initial.) 

Then  the  medium's  hand  was  controlled  to  write  the  name  on  a  slip  of 
paper.  The  slates  were  still  lying  upon  the  floor,  and  I  asked  if  she  would 
sign  her  name  in  full  to  a  message,  also  to  state  where  she  was  residing  at 
the  time  of  her  decease. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  slates  were  taken  up,  and  on  opening  them  I 
found  both  the  inner  surfaces  full  of  writing,  also  a  brief  message  on  the 
under  side,  toward  the  carpet,  the  latter  signed  with  my  friend's  name. 

Those  on  the  interior  were  one  from  my  father,  of  a  personal  nature, 
addressing  me  as  his  son,  and  signed  with  his  name.  The  other  was  a  loving 
message  from  my  wife,  addressed,  "  My  dear  Charlie,"  and  signed  "  From 
the  happy  spirit  of  your  spirit  wife,"  giving  the  name  in  full  (whereas  on  my 
slip    I   had    only    written  the    initial  of  the   middle  name  as  before  stated). 


LETTKU    TROM    CIIAKI.KS     V.   ro(  KS.  195 

Then  was  added,  "Minneapolis  is  where  I  passed  out,"  (answering  correctly 
the  verbal  request  I  had  made). 

In  this  message,  among  other  things,  was  written:  "  You  will  soon 
receive  a  good  ofTer'for  your  real  estate."  This  prophecy  I  will  refer  to  again 
in  the  sequel. 

The  two  messages  contain  140  words.  I  brought  the  slates  home  with 
me,  together  with  others,  and  prize  them  very  highly.  The  writing  is 
understood  to  be  executed  by  the  psychographic  control  of  the  medium, 
Spirit  John  Gray,  as  dictated  by  the  communicating  spirits.  There  is  a 
marked  difference,  however,  in  the  general  style  of  the  writings. 

Finally  the  medium  placed  a  slate  on  the  floor,  without  pencil,  and 
soon  a  message  was  produced  on  the  under  side,  from  John  Gray,  in  green, 
similar  to  the  prominent  shade  of  color  in  the  carpet. 

On  the  eleventh  I  had  a  second  sitting.  After  cleaning  a  pair  of  slates 
in  my  presence,  Mr.  Evans  placed  a  bit  of  pencil  between  them  and  a  rubber 
band  around  them,  and  threw  them  upon  the  floor  to  await  what  would  come. 

I  then  announced  that  I  would  like  to  ask  two  or  three  questions. 
The  medium  told  me  to  write  them  out  on  pa[)er,  which  I  did;  and  after 
placing  the  paper  between  two  more  clean  slates,  placed  them  on  the  floor 
also.  The  medium,  soon  after  this,  asked  me  if  I  had  a  picture  with  me. 
I  answered  "No."  Then  he  remarked  that  the  control  indicated  that  I  had 
something  wrapped  in  paper.  In  response  to  this,  I  took  my  wife's  wedding 
ring  from  my  pocket,  and  removed  the  wrapper  under  the  edge  of  the  table, 
out  of  sight  of  the  medium,  but  his  hand  was  controlled  to  write  "ring  "  on 
the  table,  and  also  when  the  pair  of  slates  first  laid  upon  the  floor  were 
opened,  both  inner  surfaces  were  covered  with  a  single  message  from  my 
spirit  wife,  and  under  her  signature  was  the  following:  "  I  am  glad  you  are 
still  carrying  my  ring." 

In  the  body  of  the  message,  which  contained  134  words  of  kind  advice 
and  tender  affection,  it  was  written:  "You  will  make  a  sale  soon  at  home," 
this  evidently  having  reference  to  the  same  matter  communicated  in  the  first 
message. 

The  other  pair  of  slates  had  the  questions,  which  were  placed  between 
them,  satisfactorily  answered  to  the  point.  I  should  state  also  that  there  was 
another  slate  placed  on  the  floor  at  the  same  time,  a  single  one,  making  five  at 
one  time.  This  latter,  when  taken  up,  was  found  to  be  full  of  writing  on  the 
under  side,  four  messages  in  different  styles  of  chirography,  and_  one  in 
several  colors. 

At  a  subsequent  sitting,  I  made  the  remark  that  if  the  spirit  of  my 
father,  or  any  of  my  ancestors  were  present,  I  wished  that  they  might  be  able 


196  PSVCHOGRAPHY. 

to  tell  me  what  had  become  of  the  pedigree  which  I  had  either  lost  or 
mislaid — it  gave  my  ancestors  in  a  direct  line  running  back  over  250  years. 

Mr.  Evans  remarked,  "We  will  see  what  they  say,"  then  cleaned  a 
slate  and  threw  it  on  the  floor.  In  a  few  minutes  I  read,  from  the  under  side 
of  this  slate,  a  pertinent  answer,  signed  with  my  father's  name  in  full,  as 
follows: 

Charles,  my  boy,  when  you  reach  home,  I  will  impress  you  where  to  fir.d  the 
written  pedigree  of  your  relations.  I  am  pleased  to  see  that  you  are  progressing,  and  will 
soon  reap  the  benefits  of  the  present  sittings.     Good-bye,  from  father. 

The  final  message  that  it  was  my  privilege  to  receive,  was  obtained 
while  held  alone  in  my  own  hands.  After  cleaning  two  slates  thoroughly, 
and  placing  a  band  around  them,  they  were  given  to  me  to  hold,  while  the 
medium  kept  up  ordinary  conversation.  Presently  gentle  raps  were  heard  on 
the  table  and  he  asked  me  to  open  the  slates.  The  inner  surface  of  one  was 
found  covered  with  beautifully  written  messages,  five  in  all,  and  containing 
190  words.  One  of  them  is  so  finely  written  that  it  needs  the  aid  of  a 
magnifying  glass  to  read  it  distinctly.  These  were  from  the  same  spirits  who 
manifested  before. 

And  thus  ended,  very  reluctantly,  a  most  interesting  and  satisfactory 
series  of  sittings,  for  which  I  shall  always  feel  a  deep  sense  of  gratitude  to 
this  gifted  instrument  for  his  unaffected  manner  and  uniform  courtesy. 
Before  closing  this  narrative,  which  I  fear  is  already  taking  up  too  much 
valuable  space,  I  wish  to  refer  to  the  sequel  of  several  of  the  prophecies 
contained  in  these  communications. 

Although  I  had  asked  no  leading  questions  relating  to  business  or 
property,  the  inessage  from  my  wife  in  the  pair  of  marked  slates,  which  I  took 
to  Mr.  Evans,  contained  the  prediction  as  stated:  "  You  will  soon  receive  a 
good  offer  for  your  real  estate."  After  reading  what  was  stated  in  the  ne.xt 
pair  of  slates  from  the  same  spirit  that  "  You  will  make  a  sale  soon  at  home," 
I  remarked  if  it  turned  out  to  be  true  it  would  be  a  strong  test.  The 
medium  said  that  he  had  an  impression  that  this  property  was  in  Los  Angeles. 
I  told  him  it  was  not  there.  Then  he  was  impressed  to  say,  very  decidedly, 
that  it  was  in  Los  Angeles  that  I  would  receive  my  offer.  This  was  on  the 
eleventh  of  July.  I  subsequently  visited  various  places  of  interest,  as  the 
Lick  Observatory  on  Mt.  Hamilton,  the  Yosemite  Valley,  etc.,  and  reached 
Los  Angeles  on  August  8th,  where  I  found  several  letters  waiting  for  me, 
one  enclosing  a  telegraphic  dispatch  forwarded  from  New  York  and  dated 
July  23d,  at  a  western  city  where  the  lots  were  located,  and  containing  a  very 
liberal  offer  for  thetn.  (I  had  only  just  placed  them  in  the  hands  of  an  agent 
on  my  way  to  California,  and  had  no  idea  of  being  able  to  sell,  that  year.) 


LETTER    FROM    CHARLES    P.    COCKS.  197 

I  therefore  telegra|)hed  to  my  agent  to  close  the  bargain,  but  in  due  time 
received  a  letter  saying  that  the  party  waited  two  or  three  weeks,  and  not 
hearing  from  me  purchased  other  property.  I  felt  disappointed  at  this,  but  at 
once  realized  the  fulfillment  of  the  first  prediction. 

It  wats  the  latter  part  of  September  when  I  arrived  home  in  Brooklyn, 
and  in  course  of  about  ten  days  received  a  deed  from  my  agent,  to  execute  to 
another  party  for  the  same  amount  as  offered  before,  and  so  consummated  the 
sale,  and  verified  the  second  predictions. 

In  regard  to  finding  the  pedigree,  I  thought  that  it  would  be  a  useless 
task  to  undertake  to  look  for  that  again,  but  one  day,  soon  after  I  reached 
home,  I  was  arranging  some  papers  in  a  drawer  of  my  desk  in  the  library, 
and  incidentally  seeing  some  correspondence  in  one  corner,  I  looked  into 
them,  and  to  my  surprise  found  the  written  pedigree  entire.  One  or  two 
other  matters,  highly  interesting  and  important  to  me,  were  referred  to 
prophetically  by  several  spirits,  and  in  very  decided  terms,  which  have  been 
fulfilled  to  a  remarkable  degree. 

In  conclusion,  I  have  witnessed  many  phases  of  spirit  phenomena,  but  I 
know  of  none  that  can  prove  more  satisfactory  or  convincing  to  any  candid 
investigator,  than  this  of  direct  spirit  writing.  Chas.  P.  Cocks. 

Brooklv.n',  N.  \'.,  December  23,  1889. 


WORDS  SPOKEN  AT  A  FUNERAL. 

PS  all  persons  interested  in  psychical  research  are  naturally 
desirous  of  knowing  as  much  as  possible  of  the  lives  and 
characters  of  those  possessed  of  these  wonderful  gifts, 
we  step  aside  from  the  main  purpose  of  this  volume  to  speak 
of  the  death  and  burial  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans'  first  born,  an 
infant  daughter,  aged  nearly  five  months,  and  also  to  represent 
something  of  the  belief  of  Spiritualists  in  the  state  of  the  dead, 
as  set  forth  in  the  words  spoken  at  the  funeral  by  the  author: 

''  Life  is  but  a  fitful  dream  at  best,  even  when  full  of  years, 
and  enriched  by  the  experiences  of  time.  He  knoweth  best — 
the  Infinite  Source  of  all  light  and  life — whether  we  live  or  die. 
To  our  human  judgment,  death  should  come  only  to  the  aged 
— to  the  one  who  has  lived  his  allotted  years,  and  is  ready  to 
lay  life's  burden  down,  and  rest  on  the  bosom  of  Mother  Earth. 
But  the  Good  Father  knoweth  best. 

''  In  the  light  of  our  beautiful  faith — faith  that  has  merged 
into  knowledge— there  Is  no  death.  This  little  bud  of  promise 
is  but  transplanted  to  other  bowers,  where  it  will  unfold  in 
beauty  and  loveliness  forevermore.  Far  removed  from  the 
temptations  and  sorrows  of  earth,  we  know  it  will  be  tenderly 
guarded  and  cared  for  by  some  loving  angel  mother,  in  whose 
sheltering  arms  it  has  already  found  a  home. 

''  The  life  beyond  is  the  real  life;  this,  the  ever  changing 
and  shadowy.  There  are  no  sad  partings  in  the  homes  of  the 
immortals.  No  sickness  comes  there  to  paint  the  lily  upon  the 
cheek  of  roseate  childhood  and  joyous  youth.  Pain,  suffering, 
and  death  belong  to  the  physical  body — not  to  the  risen  spirit. 

"  When  we  lay  aside  these  earthly  bodies — when  we  close 
our  eyes  for  the  last  time  on  earth — and  our  spirits  awaken  to 
the  light  and  glory  of  the  new  day,  I  doubt   not  we   shall  all 


WORDS    SPOKEN    AT    A    FUNEUAL.  199 

rejoice  to  realize  that  we  have  at  last  survived  the  vicissitudes 
of  time  and  sorrow,  and  come  off  victorious  over  death  and  the 
grave. 

''  This  young  mother  will  not  need  to  wait  for  some  far-off 
resurrection  to  restore  to  her  arms  her  lost  babe.  Its  resurrec- 
tion has  already  taken  place,  and  no  doubt,  erelong,  it  will  be 
manifest  to  her  mediumistic  nature.  Her  eyes  will  be  opened 
to  see,  and  she  w^ill  know  her  own. 

"  It  is  the  experience  of  many  mothers  that  their  little 
ones,  who  have  passed  on  to  the  other  life,  are  often  brought 
back  to  them  for  help  and  strength.  In  the  silent  hours  of 
night,  these  little  angel  spirits  are  brought  to  the  yearning, 
empty  arms  from  whence  they  have  been  taken,  where  they  are 
lulled  to  sleep  again  and  again  in  the  bosom  of  mother  love. 

"  The  lesson  of  this,  and  all  similar  bereavements,  should 
be  one  of  abiding  trust  in  the  Infinite  Spirit  of  Love,  of  which 
all  life  is  a  part.  He  who  holds  the  stars  in  His  keeping,  and 
gives  of  Himself  to  every  embodied  soul,  means,  in  His  own 
good  time,  the  happiness  of  all. 

"  There  are  beautiful  homes,  and  schools,  and  bowers  of 
transcendent  loveliness,  in  the  Summer  Land,  where  the  little 
children  are  reared  and  taught;  and  there  are  such  multitudes 
of  them  as  no  man  can  number.  Mothers,  your  treasures  are 
all  there,  safely  sheltered  in  the  Father's  love,  '  where  the  many 
mansions  be.' 

"And  so,  with  these  few  words,  freighted  with  the  heart's 
deepest  sympathy  for  the  stricken  parents,  we  lay  away,  with 
tender  and  tearful  care,  this  little  casket  from  which  the  jewel 
has  been  taken.  May  He  'who  tempers  the  wind  to  the  shorn 
lamb,'  watch  over  and  guard  them  by  His  ministering  angels  in 
their  journey  through  life,  and  bring  them  at  last  to  the 
welcoming  arms  of  the  matured  spirit  of  their  lost  darling,  who 
will  greet  them  with  outstretched  arms  on  the  evergreen  shore 
of  immortal  life." 


SKEPTICISM  AND  ITS  EFFECTS. 


ANY  persons,  even  among  Spiritualists  themselves,  are 
hostile  to  all  physical  phenomena.  Some  even  pride 
themselves  on  their  superior  acumen  in  discovering 
fraud,  from  the  fact  that  manifestations  that  others  claim  to  have 
witnessed  never  occur  in  their  presence.  Wrapped  up  in  the 
mantle  of  their  own  conceit,  they  do  not  realize  that  their 
superior  wisdom  is  the  wisdom  of  foolishness,  and  ignorance  of 
the  nice  conditions  and  laws  governing  psychic  manifestations.  It 
is  no  doubt  true  that,  with  most  psychics,  persons  with  strong 
magnetic  powers  can  overcome  in  a  measure  the  power  of  the 
spirits  to  control  the  conditions.  If  they  cannot  overcome  the 
controlling  spirit  entirely,  they  can  so  disturb  the  sensitive 
vibrations  as  to  produce  jangling  inharmony  in  the  quality  of 
the  messages.  We  will  illustrate  this  point  with  a  familiar  fact. 
In  Yosemite  Valley  there  is  a  small  body  of  water  known  as 
Mirror  Lake.  In  looking  down  into  the  waters  of  this  lake, 
on  a  still  morning,  one  will  see  reflected,  as  from  a  mirror,  all 
trees,  rocks,  and  clouds  coming  within  the  angle  of  vision.  But 
cast  the  most  insignificant  pebble  into  the  bosom  of  this  lake, 
and  then  what  do  you  behold  but  the  jangled  and  distorted 
reflections  of  what  before  stood  forth  in  the  perfection  of  their 
reality.      Mediumship  is  alike  sensitive  to  disturbing  conditions. 

A  prominent  physician  of  San  Francisco,  who  is  also  a 
member  of  the  California  Academy  of  Sciences,  visited  Mr. 
Evans  at  stated  periods  for  many  months,  and  received  long 
and  very  interesting  messages  on  a  variety  of  subjects,  from  a 
highly  unfolded  lady  spirit.  One  on  the  subject  under  consid- 
eration will  be  found  especially  to  the  point : 

*  *  *  You  put  me  to  much  trouble  last  week  in  giving  you  manifes- 
tations as  your  friend  suggested.      (That  is,  the  sitter  carried  his  own  slates. 


SKKPTIIISM     AM)    ITS    ICl-KKC  IS.  201 

washed  and  dried  them  himself,  put  them  down  and  took  them  up  himself,  the 
medium  never  for  a  moment  touching  the  slates  or  seeing  what  was  written.) 
But  I  hope  you  are  now  free  to  admit  the  possibility  of  direct  writing,  under 
conditions  which  place  the  slates  beyond  the  medium's  control,  and  that  you 
will  not  allow  any  one  to  influence  your  belief  in  spirit  writing.     *     *     * 

I  have  been  brought  to  see  many  mortals  who  were  once  happy  in  the 
belief  that  their  loved  ones  came  back  and  communicated  with  them,  and  who 
allowed  their  skeptical  friends  to  dictate  to  them  and  suggest  that  they  should 
try  to  force  their  spirit  friends  to  communicate  this  way  or  that  way,  until  they 
succeeded  in  breaking  all  laws  of  spirit  communion,  causing  their  spirit  friends  to 
sorrowfully  turn  away,  when  they  could  do  no  more.  And  what  was  accom- 
plished ?  Nothing— nothing  but  misery— nothing  left  but  a  blank  future— all 
bright  hopes  dashed  to  the  ground.  One  of  these  had  allowed  his  friends  to  prove 
that  he  could  stop  his  spirit  friends  from  communicating.  But  he  could  not 
prove  by  that  they  do  not  exist.  Alas!  the  poor  mortal  was  left  to  reflect  as 
he  might,  for  he  had  cut  off  all  avenues  of  information,  and  put  out  the  light 
of  his  own  salvation.  Vou  see  by  this  the  danger  of  going  too  far,  and 
allowing  your  friends  to  think  for  you.  Hold  fast  that  which  is  good,  for  it 
will  make  your  stay  on  earth  happy. 

The  mode  of  demonstrating  through  this  phase,  known  as  independent 
slate-writing,  is  a  very  sensitive  one  and  very  easily  spoiled,  and  would  often  be 
were  it  not  for  the  strong  exertions  of  the  medium's  spirit  guide  to  overcome 
all  obstacles. 

If  mortals  were  only  honest  in  their  investigations  and  would  come  as 
little  children,  expecting  the  truth,  they  would  get  it  and  would  be  made 
happy. 

When  I  say  they  should  come  as  little  children  expecting  the  truth,  I  do 
not  mean  with  their  eyes  closed  or  with  a  willingness  to  be  deceived,  but  with 
a  pure  and  honest  heart,  for  such  a  presence  encourages  spirits  from  the 
highest  and  the  holiest  spheres  of  heaven. 

Whereas  the  coming  with  a  distrustful  feeling  of  being  cheated  conveys 
that  feeling  to  the  medium,  and  through  him  it  is  carried  to  the  spirit  world, 
thereby  breaking  the  circuit  of  pure  magnetism,  and  causing  the  spirits  to  lose 
confidence  in  their  ability  to  make  known  their  presence,  feeling  they  will  not 
be  received  as  the  loved  ones  they  are,  and  that  their  endeavors  to  identify 
themselves  are  met  with  derision. 

Another  class  of  investigators  who  barricade  their  own  spiritual  unfold- 
ment,  are  those  who  come  to  the  medium  for  the  first  time  and  propose  the 
strongest  conditions  they  possibly  can,  to  spirits  who  have  never  communicated 
before,  and  who  are  as  ignorant  of   the  laws  of  manifestating  slate-writing  as 


202  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

the  most  bigoted  investigator  who  insists  on  his  own  conditions — conditions 
which  the  most  experienced  spirit  communicant  often  fails  to  overcome. 

For  illustration  of  the  ways  and  means  of  communicating,  I  will  quote 
the  following:  A  visits  a  medium  for  slate- writing.  He  has  never  before 
had  any  experience  on  spiritual  subjects,  and  honestly  expresses  his  ignorance 
in  the  matter,  and  asks  the  medium  to  direct  him  how  he  shall  act  to  receive 
some  proof  that  his  departed  friends  still  live.  He  sees  two  slates  washed 
clean,  and  is  told  to  hold  them  in  his  own  hands.  His  mind  is  not  filled  with 
thoughts  of  trickery  or  deception,  but  with  an  inward  wish  that  it  may  be  true 
that  his  friends  can  come  back.  With  this  receptive  flow  of  thoughts  he  is 
unconsciously  aiding  his  spirit  friends  to  manifest  for  him,  and  a  few  minutes 
later,  on  being  told  to  ojien  the  slates,  that  he  positively  knows  were  clean 
when  given  into  his  possession,  he  finds  them  filled  with  loving  and  encour- 
aging words,  and  signed  by  a  hand  that  he  knew  when  on  earth,  and  he  is 
thus  made  happy.  He  comes  again  and  brings  his  own  slates,  and  they  are 
also  filled  with  kind  and  loving  messages  from  the  spirit  world,  and  he  forever 
remains  happy  by  the  knowledge  he  has  gained  in  this  simple  yet  effective  way. 

Now  comes  B.  He  has  already  heard  of  the  wonderful  doings  of  these 
mediums,  and  laughs  at  and  ridicules  the  very  idea  of  there  being  such  a 
thing  as  spirits;  and  the  idea  of  their  being  able  to  come  back  and  write 
between  slates,  rap  on  the  tables,  and  do  other  hundred  and  one  things,  seems 
to  our  clever  friend  preposterous.  The  friends  he  has  thus  ridiculed  prevail 
on  him  to  go  just  once  to  a  medium  and  convince  himself.  He  agrees  to  go, 
and  determinedly  ties,  rivets,  screws  and  seals  a  pair  of  slates,  and  then, 
exultingly  holding  these  slates  before  his  friends,  offers  to  wager  with  them 
that  no  spirit  will  write  between  his  slates. 

He  now  repairs  to  a  medium,  with  a  defiant  and  insulting  air  of  bravado, 
making  the  medium  feel  uncomfortable,  and  causing  an  antagonistic  feeling  to 
pervade  the  room.  Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  this  man  does  not  attract  any 
spirit  to  write  for  him?  No;  he  has  repelled  his  spirit  friends,  broken  up  all 
the  conditions  of  harmony,  placed  a  strong  barrier  against  every  effort  his 
spirit  friends  might  make  to  prove  to  him  their  identity,  and  the  result  of  the 
sitting  is  an  entire  failure.  He  now  returns  to  his  friends  with,  "  Didn't  I  tell 
you  the  medium  couldn't  fool  me.'"  He  loudly  laughs,  and  tries  to  make 
them  believe  he  has  "  investigated  Spiritualism,  and  found  nothing  in  it." 

Alas!  how  many  hours  of  joy  he  has  missed  by  his  bigotry  and  opposition. 
But  such  are  the  facts  that  have  come  under  my  notice  during  my  stay  in  the 
spirit  world. 

I  hope  I  have  not  tired  you  too  much;  but  these  are  lessons  that  all  must 
learn  before  they  are  ready  to  receive  much  sinritual  knowledge.  Perhaps  my 
next  will  be  more  interesting. 


A  QUESTION  OF  PROOF. 


'HE  editor  of  Psychic  lYotes,  published  in  Brisbane.^New 
South  Wales,  during  the  time  Mr.  Evans  visitetl  the 
colonies,  Mr.  George  Smith,  we  have  found  to  be  a 
most  careful  student  in  the  field  of  the  occult.  The  following, 
from  his  pen,  is  a  cogent  and  analytical  argument  in  favor  of  the 
spiritual  character  of  the  phenomena  of  independent  writing, 
witnessed  in  the  presence  of  Mr.  PLvans,  and  others  of  his 
class  of  psychics  : 

The  intelligent  investigator  looks  beyond  the  exiiloded  theories  of  fraud 
and  conjuring  to  explain  these  phenomena,  well  knowing  that  in  the  light  of 
reason  they  will  not  stand.  We  know  that  the  writing  on  the  slates  is  not 
chemically  prepared  beforehand,  because  there  is  no  method  known  to  science 
whereby  the  marks  of  slate  pencil  can  be  invisibly  transferred  to  the  slate  and 
afterwards  made  visible,  so  that  by  the  aid  of  a  magnifying  glass  the  dust  or 
minute  particles  of  the  slate  pencil  are  distinctly  visible  on  the  surface  of  the 
slate,  thus  proving  it  was  written  by  ordinary  slate  pencil.  We  know  tlie 
writing  was  not  done  beforehand  by  the  medium,  because  in  many  cases  the 
slates  on  which  the  writing  appears  were  not  touched  by  the  medium  unlil 
fastened  together  and  the  seance  commenced.  We  know  the  writing  is  not 
done  by  the  hand  of  the  medium,  because  while  the  slate  rested  on  our  shoulder 
we  have  distinctly  heard  the  writing  going  on  between  the  slates;  and  we  know 
the  writing  was  done  by  the  pencil  placed  between  the  slates,  because  of  the 
facet  worn  thereon  and  the  writing  being  of  the  same  color  as  the  pencil;  and 
the  writing  taking  the  form  of  answers  to  important  questions,  and  having 
reference  to  something  suggested  after  the  seance  commenced,  effectually 
precludes  the  possibility  of  preparation  beforehand.  Conjurers,  by  a  clever 
trick,  can  imitate  these  phenomena,  but  they  cannot  produce  like  results  under 
like  conditions.  They  will  not  allow  investigators  to  secure  and  hold  their  o.wn 
slates,  nor  be  in  close  proximity  to  themselves;  neither  are  they  able  to 
produce  certain  words  or  names  written  down  after  their  preparations  for  the 
trick  are  completed,  nor  produce  the  writing  in  any  given  color,  or  in  colors 
when  no  colored  pencils  are  supplied.     Another  reason  why  the  writing  is  not 


204  •  PSVCHOGKAPHV. 

the  result  of  legerdemain  is  the  fact  of  its  oft  extremely  rapid  production,  the 
speed  often  being  at  least  six  times  the  rate  the  most  rapid  penman  can  write. 
The  average  under  ordinary  circumstances  is  about  thirty  words  per  minute. 
Psychography  exceeds  this  by  far.  The  editor  of  this  journal  received  a 
psychographic  message  of  296  words  on  a  pair  of  slates,  held  in  his  own  hands, 
which  two  minutes  before  presented  a  perfectly  blank  surface,  and  far  greater 
rapidity  than  this  has  often  been  attained. 

From  the  facts  we  and  others  have  observed,  we  maintain  that  the 
phenomena  of  psychography  occurring  here  in  the  presence  of  Fred  Evans 
have  been  thoroughly  proved,  and  cannot  be  summed  up  better  than  in  the 
following  propositions  by  that  gifted  writer,  "  M.  A.  (Oxon.)"  : 

First.  That  there  exists  a  force  which  operates  through  a  special 
.type  of  human  organization,  and  which  is  conveniently  called  psychic  force. 

Second.  That  this  force  is,  in  certain  cases,  demonstrably  governed  by 
intelligence. 

Third.  That  this  intelligence  is,  in  certain  cases,  provably  not  that  of 
the  person  or  persons  through  whom  the  force  is  evolved. 

Fourth.  That  this  force,  thus  governed  by  an  external  intelligence, 
manifests  its  action  in  (amongst  other  methods)  the  writing  of  coherent 
sentences  without  the  intervention  of  any  of  the  usual  methods  of  writing. 
Such  abnormal  writing  is  conveniently  called  psychography. 

Fifth.  That  the  evidence  for  the  existence  of  this  force,  thus  governed 
by  external  intelligence,  rests  upon: 

(a)     The  evidence  of  the  observers'  senses. 

{b)  The  fact  that  a  language  other  than  that  known  to  the  psychic  is 
frequently  used. 

(r)  The  fact  that  the  subject  matter  of  the  writing  is  frequently  beyond 
the  knowledge  of  the  psychic. 

{d)  The  fact  that  it  is  demonstrably  impossible  to  produce  the  results 
by  fraud  under  conditions  similar  to  those  under  which  the  phenomena  are 
obtained. 

(,?)  The  fact  that  these  siiecial  phenomena  are  produced  not  only  in 
public,  and  for  gain,  but  in  private,  and  without  the  presence  of  any  person 
outside  of  the  family  circle. 

Voltaire,  in  his  philosophical  dictionary,  says:  A  testimony  is  sufficient 
when  it  rests  on — 

First.  .  A  great  number  of  sensible  witnesses,  who  agree  on  having 
seen  clearly. 

Second.     Who  are  sane  bodily  and  mentally. 

Third.     Who  are  impartial  and  disinterested. 


A    QUKSTIOiN    01"    PROOF.  205 

Fouith.     Who  unanimously  agree. 

Fifth.     Who  solemnly  certify  to  the  fact. 

And  if  this  is  so,  the  phenomena  of  psychography,  as  it  occurs  in  the 
presence  of  Fred  Evans,  Wm.  Eglinton,  Chas.  E.  Watkins,  and  numbers  of 
other  mediums  in  the  private  circle,  can  be  considered  proven  by  the 
thousands  of  sensible  witnesses  who  have  certified  to  the  fact  all  over  the 
civilized  world.  The  question  now  agitating  the  minds  of  psychologists  is 
not,  Do  these  phenomena  occur  ?  but,  What  is  the  cause  of  them  .'  Many 
theories  are  propounded,  and  many,  which  failing  to  square  with  observed 
facts,  fall  short  just  as  they  reach  the  most  important  points.  How  often  do 
we  hear  superficial  observers  dismiss  the  subject  as  mere  thought  reading. 
Admitting  the  possibility  of  the  investigator's  thoughts  being  read  by  the 
medium,  we  still  have  to  face  the  fact  of  the  writing  on  the  slates,  and 
account  for  the  thoughts  getting  written  down  there. 

The  mesmeric  fluid  of  Mesmer,  the  "  odic  force  "  of  Reichenbach,  the 
"nerve  aura"  of  other  investigators,  are  all  the  one  and  the  same  "  psychic 
force,"  the  name  given  by  most  psychological  writers  to  the  power  of  force 
which  is  supposed  to  produce  these  phenomena.  Dr.  Collyer  attributes  it  to 
the  "unconscious  action  of  the  will  of  the  psychic."  Dr.  Geo.  Wylde 
believes  it  is  produced  by  the  "  partially  entranced  spirit  of  the  psychic, 
although  to  all  appearance  in  his  normal  state  at  the  time;"  others,  to  the 
astral  or  double  of  the  psychic,  and  so  we  have  theories  and  theories,  which 
go  so  far  until  met  by  some  fact  they  are  unable  to  exjilain,  and  then,  after  all 
these  theorists  have  had  their  say,  there  still  remains  a  numerous,  compact, 
and  firm  body  of  observers  who  believe  these  phenomena  the  work  of  disem- 
bodied human  spirits.  They  cogently  reason  that  their  hypothesis  has  the 
merit  of  being  consistently  put  forward  by  the  invisible  intelligence;  and  why 
should  this  intelligence,  when  interrogated,  invariably  return  an  answer  identi- 
fying itself  with  the  spirit  of  some  departed  human  being,  if  it  be  indeed,  as 
often  alleged,  only  the  liberated  spirit,  astral,  or  double  of  the  psychic  ?  This 
theory  is  the  one  that  covers  by  far  the  most  ground;  and  we  must  remember, 
that  theory  which  covers  the  most  of  the  facts  is  the  most  likely  to  be  true.  There 
are,  however,  many  laws  of  nature  we  know  not  of  yet  to  be  unraveled;  in 
the  meantime,  let  us  go  on  recording  facts  until  sufficient  be  accumulated  from 
which  a  positive  deduction  can  he  drawn,  and  the  truth  made  known  to  the 
world. 


(nHI7BIlSITY) 


HOW  THE  WRITING  IS  DONE. 

IN  our  many  and  varied  experiments  in  psychography  with 
Mr.  Evans,  and  also  with  other  mediums  for  the  same 
phase,  we  have  never  been  able  to  clearly  understand  the 
precise  methods  employed  by  the  spirits  to  produce  the 
writing.  We  say  "methods,"  for  we  are  sure  that  all  do  not 
write  in  the  same  way;  nor  do  the  same  spirits  at  all  times 
produce  the  writing  exactly  alike.  And  then  it  is  difficult  for 
the  mortal  mind  to  understand  spiritual  things.  The  condi- 
tions on  the  spirit  side  of  life  are  vastly  different  from  those  of 
the  mortal.  We  know  that  the  writing  is  done,  but  how  it  is 
done  can  only,  or  to  a  large  extent,  be  a  matter  of  theory  and 
speculation.  We  know  but  precious  little  of  spirit  chemistry, 
or  spirit  magnetism,  or  how  an  intelligent  will  can  master  the 
physical  conditions  necessary  to  produce  the  writing.  We 
know  that  a  medium  is  necessary,  a  person  with  a  peculiar 
aura  or  magnetic  force,  but  wherein  this  force  or  aura  differs 
from  that  of  other  persons,  we  are  at  sea.  Not  until  the  scales 
of  mortality  shall  have  fallen  from  our  own  eyes,  and  we  see 
things  in  that  better  light,  the  light  of  the  spirit,  shall  we  be  able 
probably  to  know  much  more  about  it  than  we  do  at  present. 
And  yet  there  is  really  nothing  more  mysterious  in  spirit 
writing  than  there  is  in  transmitting  messages  across  continents 
and  under  oceans  on  the  earth  plane.  Each  is  produced  in 
accordance  with  certain  laws,  which  are  as  mysterious  as  the  law 
of  growth  or  of  pulsation. 

Since  writing  the  foregoing,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of 
December,  1892,  we  visited  Mr.  Evans  and  asked  Spirit  John 
Gray  to  give  us,  as  near  as  he  could  do  so,  an  explanation  of 
independent  writing  as  he  understood    it.      He  assented,  and 


now  Till-:  wKiTiNi;   is  donk.  207 

Mr.  Evans  cleaned  botli  sides  of  six  slates  and  spread  them 
out  on  the  table  before  us.  He  then  asked  John  Gray  how 
many  more  slates  he  wanted.  Eight  raps  were  heard,  and  eight 
more  slates  were  immediately  cleaned  of  their  dust  and  bunched 
upon  the  floor.  In  about  fifteen  minutes  three  raps  announced 
that  the  message  was  written.  The  fourteen  slates  were  found 
to  be  written  full,  the  communication  containing  about  1200 
words.  Concerning  the  diagram  produced,  John  Gray,  in  a 
personal  note  to  the  author,  says,  "  I  could  not  secure  the 
services  of  St.  Clair  to  illustrate  my  chapter,  because  he  is  trying 
to  control  a  relation  of  his.  Therefore,  I  have  made  a  rude 
sketch  myself,  and  wish  Fred  to  take  the  idea  to  some  good 
engraver  and  have  a  design  made  for  the  book."  This  is  the 
longest  message  ever  given  by  Spirit  John  Gray  at  one  seance, 
and  we  doubt  if  it  has  ever  been  equaled  by  any  other  spirit 
writer,      l-'ollowing  is  the  message  complete: 

PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

Many  investigators  who  have  witnessed  the  phenomenon  of  psychog- 
raphy  (or  as  it  is  generally  called,  independent  slate-writing),  have  repeatedly 
asked  my  medium  for  an  explanation  as  to  how  the  phenomenon  is  produced. 
It  is  for  the  benefit  of  these  inquirers  that  I  offer  the  following  explanation — 
that  is,  as  it  occurs  through  this  medium: 

Many  believers  imagine  that  the  spirit  hand  is  materialized  between  the 
slates,  grasps  the  pencil  and  proceeds  to  write.  Others  believe  that  in  every 
case  where  the  signature  of  some  friend  or  relative  is  attached  to  a  message, 
that   the  message  is  written  by  the  spirit  personally,  and  this  is  generally  the 

cause  of  much  controversy  and  skepticism.     For  instance,  Mr.  visits 

the  medium  perhaps  for  the  first  time.  He  obtains  several  messages  with  the 
names  of  his  spirit  friends  attached.  The  wonderful  manner  in  which  the 
message  appears  takes  him  by  surprise,  and  he  takes  the  slates  containing  the 
messages  home.  Then  comes  the  careful,  critical  examination  of  the 
messages.  Perhaps  his  wife  or  some  friend  suggests  that  the  hand-writing  is 
not  "John's," and  this  fact  brings  on  doubts;  then  in  another  message  they 
discover  that  some  letter  is  misused  in  the  spelling  of  the  name,  etc.,  and  so 


208  PSYCHOGRAPHY. 

it  goes.  This  is  because  the  investigators  are  ignorant  of  the  laws  governing 
the  phenomenon.      Now,  let  me  offer  a  solution  to  this  seeming  defect: 

In  the  first  place,  we  cannot  expect  spirits,  who  are  ignorant  of  the  law 
governing  the  transmission  of  messages  by  psychography,  to  be  able  to  send  a 
message  until  they  have  been  properly  instructed  how  to  do  so.  Would  it  be 
reasonable  to  ask  some  of  you  mortals,  who  have  never  studied  the  art  of 
telegraphy  or  typewriting,  to  immediately  send  a  message  by  these  methods.? 
No;  they  must  be  given  time  to  learn,  and  in  the  meantime  if  they  wish  to 
send  a  message  it  must  be  done  by  proxy.  So  it  is  in  the  spirit  world.  All 
laws  must  be  studied,  and  until  they  have  educated  themselves,  spirits  must 
depend  on  the  aid  and  tuition  of  other  spirits  who  have  become  familiar  with 
this  mode  of  corresponding.  So  you  see,  many  times  I  and  other  spirits  are 
called  upon  to  write  messages  for  spirits  who  do  not  understand  how*,  and  we 
may  spell  their  names  wrong  and  make  other  errors,  because  we  take  their 
names  phonetically;  besides,  the  message  would  appear  more  stereotyped  than 
if  written  individually  by  the  spirits  who  desire  the  messages  sent.  But  this 
is  only  for  a  brief  period,  for  all  spirits  can  learn  to  write  themselves,  and  when 
they  do  so  (which  they  have  done  hundreds  of  times  through  this  medium), 
investigators  will  receive  a  fac  simile  of  the  hand-writing  their  spirit  friends 
executed  when  on  earth,  besides  a  personality  in  their  messages  that  will 
satisfy  them  as  to  their  identity. 

Now,  the  writing  is  not  produced  either  by  personal  contact  of  the 
medium  or  his  spirit  friends.  Everything  done  in  the  spirit  world  is  governed 
by  a  natural  law,  and  it  would  be  an  unnatural  law  that  would  permit  a 
materialized  hand  to  go  between  the  surfaces  of  slates  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch 
apart  and  grasp  a  pencil  with  which  to  write.  The  principal  methods  that  we 
use  to  transmit  messages  are  by  a  law  that  is  beginning  to  be  well  known  and 
understood  by  you  mortals  on  earth,  viz. :  electricity  and  magnetism. 
Psychography  is  produced  exactly  as  telegraphic  messages  are  produced.  Let 
me  explain:  Suppose  A,  in  New  York,  wishes  to  send  a  message  by  telegraphy 
to  B,  in  San  Francisco,  is  it  necessary  for  him  to -come  to  San  Francisco  to  do 
so?  Certainly  not;  he  merely  operates  on  his  key  in  New  York,  and  every 
letter  or  sound  is  reproduced  in  San  Francisco.  Suppose  I  wish  to  send  a 
message  by  psychography.  I  write  on  slate  A  (see  diagram)  in  the  spirit 
world.  The  medium  being  a  sensitive,  I  establish  a  circuit  or  current,  C,  (we 
need  no  wires  to  conduct  the  current,  and  in  the  near  future  you  mortals  will 
learn  to  dispense  with  them)  to  and  through  the  medium  D  to  your  mundane 
slate  B,  so  that  every  movement  made  by  us  on  the  spirit  slate  is  responded 
to  by  the  pencil  on  the  mundane  slate,  and  is  reproduced.     So  you   see  we 


now    TIIK.    WRITING 


■209 


use  the  medium  for  a  battery,  and  your  earth  [)lane  for  a  ground,  to  establish 
our  circuit. 

We  also  have  other  methods  of  producing  the  writing,  etc.    One  of  them 
is  by   transference,  that  is  to  say  that  we  can  prepare   sufficient   writing  or 


pictures  in  the  spirit  world  to  fill  the  surface  of  the  medium's  slate,  and  then 
transfer  it  instantaneously  upon  said  slate  (one  example  of  this  kind  was 
produced  through  this  medium  in  the  presence  of  Professor  A.  R.  Wallace). 
To  produce  this  manifestation  we  must  first  thoroughly  sensitize  the  slate  to 


210  PSYCHOGRAI'HY. 

be  operated  upon,  and  disentegrate  the  pencil  into  fine  powder  and  precipitate 
it  evenly  over  the  surface  of  the  slate.  The  transfer  is  made  somewhat  similar 
to  photography.  The  color  writing!  is  produced  through  somewhat  the  same 
method,  except  that  the  color  matter  is  procured  on  your  earth  plane  and 
brought  into  the  room  and  on  the  slates  in  almost  invisible  dust  or  powder,  and 
precipitated  on  the  slates  the  same  as  the  former.  These  latter  methods  are 
much  more  difficult  to  produce,  and  better  conditions  are  required.  It  is  also 
indispensable  to  have  the  medium  in  a  healthy  state,  free  from  all  mundane 
worry  and  annoyance,  with  pleasant  surroundings,  and  everything  that  is 
possible  to  make  him  happy,  harmonious,  and  contented.  This  is  important, 
and  good  mediums  for  this  phase  should  not  be  overworked,  but  should  be 
carefully  protected  by  those  who  value  the  evidence  obtained  through  their 
mediumship. 

As  a  parting  word  to  investigators,  I  would  recommend  that  they 
approach  the  medium  for  investigation  in  a  pleasant,  harmonious  manner, 
7inth  their  eyes  luide  open  if  in  doubt,  and  they  will  win  the  medium's 
sympathy,  and  thus  make  conditions  which  will  insure  good  results  instead  of 
as  is  the  case  with  many  who,  with  loud  voices,  while  admitting  they  have 
never  sat  with  the  medium,  proclaim  their  belief  that  the  manifestation  they 
expect  to  receive  7vill  be  all  fraudulent.  I  suppose  it  is  human  nature  for  all 
to  rebel  at  insults  and  aspersions  against  their  honesty,  and  especially  is  it  the 
case  when  the  attack  is  made  by  parties  who  admit  that  you  have  never  given 
them  cause  for  these  cruel  charges.  A  medium  being  more  sensitive  than  the 
ordinary  run  of  mortals,  feels  these  insults  more  than  they,  and  the  result  is 
that  the  possibility  of  a  satisfactory  seance  is  spoiled  by  the  rebellious  state  of 
the  medium.      Yours  in  aid  to  a  knowledge  of  a  future  life, 

John  Gray. 


CONCLUSION. 


I'X  tlie  preparation  of  this  volume  we  could  readily  have  filled 
its  pages  with  personal  experiences  of  the  author  with  the 
psychic,  Fred  P.  Evans;  but  that,  of  course,  would  not 
have  been  well.  Hence,  the  large  array  of  experiences  of 
other  investigators  we  have  garnered  here — of  people,  many  of 
whom  are  eminent  in  science,  letters,  or  in  social  and  public 
life.  Neither  have  we  thought  it  best  to  tell  their  interesting 
stories  in  our  own  language,  but  often  in  the  language  of 
skeptics,  or  of  persons  against  whom  the  charge  of  friendly 
prejudice  in  their  favor  could  not  reasonably  be  made.  And 
thus  does  this  book  commend  itself  to  all  thoughtful  inves- 
tigators in  the  realm  of  psychic  phenomena. 

No  true  scientist  can  afford  to,  place  himself  in  an  attitude 
of  hostility  towards  any  fact  of  nature.  He  should  hold  his 
mind  open  to  proof,  and  not  allow  his  prejudices  to  prevent  his 
giving  to  all  proper  evidence  due  weight.  What  right  has  any 
one  to  conclude  that  he  has  exhausted  the  knowable  in  the 
matter  of  natural  law,  or  of  any  of  the  forces  of  nature  ?  What 
should  we  think  of  the  judge  who  should  pass  in  judgment 
upon  a  case,  before  the  testimony  as  to  the  facts  was  all 
presented  and  properly  weighed  ?  The  true  scientist  is  passive 
and  receptive,  and  slow  to  condemn  what  he  does  not  thoroughly 
and  fully  understand. 

What  is  there  in  these  phenomena,  that  have  been  herein 
so  abundantly  testified  to  and  most  conclusively  proven,  that 
skepticism  should  sneer  at,  or  science  repel  ?  They  show  that 
outside  the  realm  of  the  material  universe,  as  apparent  to  the 
physical  senses,  there  is  a  universe  unexplored,  of  spiritual 
realities,  real  and  tangible  to  the  spiritual  sense — a  sense  latent 


212  PSVCHOGRAPHV. 

with  most  people,  but  partially  developed  with  many,  and 
occasionally  so  complete  and  rounded  out  in  a  few  organisms  as 
to  bring  the  mortal  in  close  touch  and  sympathy  with  the 
denizens  of  that  world,  who  are  no  other  than  the  children  of 
earth  who  have  passed  from  mortal  sight. 

The  materialist  can  see  nothing  more  for  man  beyond  the 
confines  of  this  life;  but  the  narrowness  of  his  vision  is  no 
argument  against  man's  continued  existence.  The  independent 
writing  we  have  so  fully  demonstrated  in  this  volume  is  but  one 
of  the  many  avenues  of  communication  between  the  living  and 
the  so-called  dead.  It  cannot  be  explained  on  any  other  theory. 
Unconscious  cerebration  cannot  place  intelligent  messages 
within  closed  slates.  There  is  no  individuality  or  personality 
in  nothing.  There  must  be  a  something  that  does  this  writing, 
and  that  something  invariably  declares  itself  to  be  the  spirit  of 
some  departed  mortal.  Why  should  we  not  take  it  at  its  word  ? 
It  is  the  only  rational  solution  of  the  question. 

The  trouble  with  the  materialist  is  that  he  has  not  learned 
to  draw  the  line  between  matter  and  spirit.  In  all  of  his 
estimates  and  calculations  he  stops  too  soon.  He  gauges  the 
limit  of  the  material  universe  by  his  capacity  to  comprehend 
it.  Like  one  afflicted  with  nearsightedness,  he  cannot  realize 
that  beyond  the  range  of  his  obstructed  vision  there  may  be 
beautiful  valleys,  grand  mountains,  and  delightful  vistas 
apparent  to  other  eyes.  And  then  scientists  are  apt  to  be 
slaves  to  their  own  conceits,  if  not  to  public  opinion,  like 
Huxley,  Carpenter,  and  the  Harvard  professors,  or  the 
professors  of  the  Pennsylvania  University,  whom  Honorable  A. 
B.  Richmond  so  pungently  criticised  and  reviewed.  They  do 
not  like  to  be  considered  odd  or  cranky — that  is,  some  of  them 
do  not.  Professor  Crookes  was  not  of  this  class,  nor  Wallace, 
nor  Varley.  The  German  scientists,  Zollner  and  Hollenbach, 
were  brave  and  outspoken,  in  the  face  of  a  vast  amount  of 
educated   prejudice.      So  was  our    own    Professor    Hare,    and 


((INCLUSION.  213 

those  noble  luminaries  of  the  bench  and  bar,  Judge  Kdmonds, 
and  A.  B.  Richmond. 

Some  of  our  religious  teachers,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
have  taken  very  unkindly  to  our  facts.  They  insist  upon  our 
believing  through  faith  what  they  are  unwilling  to  accept  upon 
proof.  They  think  we  should  take  the  story  of  the  appearance 
of  Moses  and  Elias  at  the  transfiguration  of  Jesus  as  a  fact,  and 
reject  the  idea  that  the  spirit  of  Katy  King  appeared  to 
Professor  Crookes.  They  hold  to  the  appearance  of  Jesus  to 
his  disciples,  in  an  upper  room  in  Jerusalem,  after  his  cruci- 
fixion, but  regard  the  psychography  of  Fred  Evans,  Dr.  Slade, 
and  others,  as  the  tricks  of  jugglery.  They  are  not  to  be 
censured  for  this.  Men  are  not  to  be  expected  to  change  all 
their  modes  of  thought  in  a  day.  The  theology  the  child  is 
taught  to  believe  in  his  infancy,  as  taught  in  his  catechism — a 
creed  that  has  become  inbred  in  his  nature,  cannot  be 
uprooted  in  a  moment.  These  criticisms  do  not  apply  to  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  which  church  has  always  taught 
communion  with  the  spirits  of  the  departed;  not,  perhaps,  in 
the  way  practiced  by  what  is  known  as  physical  mediums,  but 
by  visions,  inspirations,  impressions,  etc.  The  ''  communion 
of  saints "  is  also  a  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Episcopal 
Church,  but  never,  we  believe,  in  ways  as  practiced  by  Spirit- 
ualists and  psychics. 

Psychic  gifts  are  found  to  be  wholly  independent  of  mental 
or  moral  qualities.  One  may  be  a  good  musician  or  mathe- 
matician, and  yet  be  wanting  in  qualities  of  moral  excellence. 
So  with  what  is  known  as  mediumship.  It  is  this  fact  that  has 
led  many  good  people  to  distrust  the  genuineness  of  psychic  gifts. 
Our  psychics  sometimes  do  things  not  in  accord  with  the 
teachings  of  the  spirits.  So  do  other  spiritual  teachers.  We 
should  be  as  reasonable  and  charitable  toward  an  erring 
psychic  as  we  are,  or  should  be,  toward  other  weak  and  erring 
mortals. 


214  PSVCHOGRAPHV. 

Less  than  half  a  century  has  transpired  since  the  rappings 
were  first  heard  in  the  Fox  family,  at  Hydesville,  New  York. 
Since  then  the  strange  phenomena  have  swept  over  all  lands. 
There  are  now,  no  doubt,  more  believers  in  the  genuineness  of 
these  phenomena  upon  the  globe,  than  there  are  of  any  one  of 
the  religious  sects,  not  excepting  the  Catholics,  and  the  cause  is 
spreading  as  never  before. 

The  world  need  not  deplore  its  extension.  True  religion 
has  nothing  to  fear  from  this  innovation  of  modern  thought. 
The  invisibles  invariably  teach  purity  of  life  and  conduct. 
They  tell  us,  without  exception,  that  if  we  would  win  happiness 
in  the  other  life,  we  should  practice  good  deeds  here — that  we 
should  be  kind  to  each  other,  charitable  to  the  poor,  and  good  to 
all.  They  ever  urge  upon  us  the  necessity  of  right  living  here,  as 
the  only  way  to  secure  those  spiritual  rewards  that  will  be  ours  in 
the  sweet  Summer  Land  of  the  Soul,  that  lies  just  beyond  the 
gates  of  time.  They  tell  us  that  the  consequences  of  wrongful 
acts  here  will  follow  us  into  the  Beyond,  where  they  will  shadow 
and  sadden  our  spirits  until  the  wrongs  of  our  earthly  lives 
are  purged  away,  and  our  spirits  placed  upon  the  shining  way 
with  faces  turned  toward  the  delectable  mountain  of  Eternal 
Truth. 

And  here  we  patiently  wait  for  further  developments, 
which,  in  the  coming  years,  will  bring  all  thoughtful  minds  to  a 
realization  of  the  mighty  fact  that 

"  There  is  no  death,  what  seems  so  is  tiansition," 

to  Other  planes  of  life,  growth,  thought  and  action. 


Finis. 


<i-<S%^lfrf-^V 


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NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
Blclg.400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond.  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renev^/ed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renev\/als  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


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THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


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